《VRMMO no Shien Shokunin ～Top Player no Shikakenin～》 Chapter 1 As I mentioned before, since I lack the skills to make a footnote Ill proceed to add them after the text and signal them with a number like this (1). I know it doesnt look good and it might take you out from the reading experience but its the only thing that came to mind for now and I apologize. Ill try to use them as little as possible. Ahh! Im going to die! Hind heal me! Unfortunately, both my items and spells are on cooldown. Try to do something by yourself. Eh!? Ah! The sword brok- Ohshe died. Yumirs HP reached 0 points. As I saw that, I took some distance from the goblin-like monster. Since the target went out of its range of action, the monster left. Thats why I told you to use the infinite beginner hp items Saying that its uncool or whatever, you care too much about appearances. I approached the gray corpse of the defeated Yumir and poured the beginner revival item with infinite uses on her. Its full name was Beginner holy water, it cant be used mid-battle. What does this name even mean? Are you telling me that God cuts corners when making them? Re?vi?ved! Yeah yeah, good morning Color returned to Yumirs body and she vigorously stood up. By the way, apparently, if you dont get revived within 1 minute after the battle ends, on top of the death penalty youll get sent back to the last town youve passed through. Playing solo is quite harsh. I wonder if theres any sort of auto-revive consumables for solo players? It was impossible after all! Lets continue after we have leveled up in the forest at the beginning! You are saying that because Im a beginner right? Right!? But, dont you want to rush through the beginning?! Its launch day after all! Apparently this game launched today at 10 am. The time right now is 2pm. Anyway, I dont think we can compare to those people that take the day off to play all day longbut some things are better off unsaid. I didnt want to pour cold water on MiyusI mean Yumirs motivation. However, this is too inefficient. I wonder if theres any way to find a suitable hunting ground? Just now we were the ones being hunted instead of being the hunters. Is what I thought as I kept casting healing magic on the near-death Yumir. Once we get back, why dont we investigate a bit? Stuff like the levels of the monsters or how much experience you get in parties. Investigate? That kind of stuff, just leave it to the people that make walk-through sites! Until then, we should just use our instincts to find a way to proceed! You are going to leave the hard work to others!? Its still launch day, I dont think that kind of information will be out yet. Dont you think that investigating by ourselves is another way to enjoy the game? Yumir stood there, her long eyelashes made a *pachi pachi* sound as she blinked repeatedly. IDid I say something that weird? O-Oh what? That thought never crossed my mindLike I thought, When Im with you, I find new ways to have fun! Im glad I invited you to play the game! Seriously, her way of conveying her feelings is too directI find it hard to react sometimes. For some reason, I didnt want her to see my face so I turned my back to her and started walking. Anyway, lets return. Dondery Forestwas it? Ill tag along until our level is high enough that we cant use beginner gear anymore. Really!? Lets go right away! We started walking back. On the way back, we passed by a group full of guys. I feel bad for Yumir but..lets try getting some distance from her and pass by them. As we passed by them, I could hear whispers. Oh, Isnt she quite pretty? Hey, try talking to her! Lets get her to take a screenshot with us! For someone like me, talking to a beautiful girl of that caliber is too high of a hurdle Just like I thought, Yumir was getting stares from the guys. Just nowdid someone just talk in a really old fashioned otaku way? Was it my imagination? (1) (The last person ends his sentences with -degozaru) Anywaysact like you dont know herIt just so happens that you are walking the same way as her. It was an evasive skill to naturally get away from my childhood friend who had a pointlessly pretty face. In this game, your face doesnt really change muchthough its not like I want them to make the avatars plain looking. Of course, if Yumir gets involved in anything I plan to help her out, but as someone thats not her boyfriend, Id find the gazes of jealousy annoying. Moreover, it drains your stamina and theres no easy way to deal with it. Perfectmy camouflage is perfect! Why are you suddenly distancing yourself from me? That makes me lonely Dont get close to me now!! Camouflage failed. Stares of jealousy flooded from the male-only party towards me. As for the reason I started playing this game, well have to turn back the clock 2 hours. Today, Sunday, I had the day off my part-time job so I was lazing around the house but In front of me, my female classmate was prostrating on the floor. Her long black hair spread out on the carpet. It was quite the awful sightHow did it end up like this? I beg you Wataru! with mePlay a VR game with me! Why are you prostrating before meisnt your way of asking favors too manly? I would hear you out even if you didnt do something like this, butI dont have a VR headset. Taking my reply as a positive one the girl before meMiyu vigorously raised her face. As I had placed my hand on her shoulder to make her stand up, the sudden movement made her hair attack my chin and cheeks. That tickles. Plus it has the good fragrance of a girl. Is it okay!? Is it really OK!? Even though you are so busy everyday! Well, as long as its only a couple hours every day I dont think there will be any problems. Besides, I dont have work every day and at the latest, I would end at 10pm. But still, you know I cant afford to buy a VR headset. My household doesnt have a father. My mom works every day until quite late and the money I get from my work goes toward the savings for household expenses. Spending on games that arent too expensive would be 1 thing but I cant really afford to spend the large sum that current VR headsets cost. If it was an old game that supported old headset models it might have been possible, but contrary to her appearance Miyu is quite the gamer. Most likely the game shes inviting me to play is the latest game released. FufufuI thought you would say that. Huh? Miyu started to look through her bag. The strange thing she pulled from her bag was Tadah! Its the latest headset VRX3500! I even got 2 of them! They were a pair of black goggles with a stylish design, if I remember correctly they appeared in commercials these days. She thrust a pair of them towards me while holding the other one under her arm. As she struck a pose, I started clapping. oohoh? Wait? I thought the news said that to prevent reselling them, they were only sold in physical stores and it was limited to 1 per person? Ugh! I thought you didnt usually watch the news Thats right, I usually dont watch the news. But, even people like me know of this kind of social phenomenon, The VR headset that provides full virtual reality immersion that shes holding. With its launch, theres already lots of games that launched covering multiple genres such as FPS, MMORPG, Sports The mysterious number 3500 apparently comes from the number of prototypes it had, though I dont know if thats true or not. The release date was yesterday and on the way back home from work, I was astonished at the long queue in front of the store. They take your ID when you buy one, so it was impossible to buy 2. Given these circumstances, the question is how she managed to buy 2 of them EhehTo tell you the truth, I persuaded my father to buy one UwahYou called Akifumi ojisan on his way home from work? Making him wait on that long queue with his tired bodythats so pitiful He had to get his ticket on his way to work and we went together on the way backBu-but I also had to go through a lot you know! I had to wait there early in the morning and in the evening I had to wait in that long queue! In the end, because there was a delay, I couldnt get to Watarus birthday party in timeI passed by at 10 pm but no matter how many times I rang the bell no one came outI was so lonely that I cried a bit you know! That was you! It was an unusual time so I didnt come out! Use your phone! AhI forgot about that. I wanted to keep silent and give you a surprise soI kind of forgot about it Good griefbeing alone in the middle of the night is dangerous. No, I was with my dad, you know? Are you serious!? With Akifumi ojisan!? Because of that, today hes sound asleep. When I left home, dad was still sleeping! Hes really pitifulon top of having to work until Saturdays, this. But that person does dote on his daughter to a frightening degree Like Miyu said, yesterday was my 17th birthday. We were planning to have a modest celebration with: my mom, my little sister, Miyu and me but Because she didnt come in the end, the leftovers of my handmade cake are inside the fridge. A-anyway. Its a day late butHappy birthday, Wataru. With a bashful smile, Miyu handed me a big present box. I gratefully accepted her present. I havent played any games lately but I was really happy with her honest feelings. Thanks. But is it really OK? To give me something this expensive. Umu, its fine! Thats why now that you have accepted it, Youll have to play the game I want to play with me! Of course, I dont mind doing that. So? What game are you planning to play? As long as I have the headset I can just download the game from the net. I connected the VR headset to the PC, then I proceeded to register the headset. Lets seeacquisition methodgift. It seems like I needed the purchasers personal information too. Looks like they went this far to prevent reselling. After finishing that, while the headset was charging, Miyu started to explain a lot of technical terminologies that I didnt really understand. Just so you know, the only experience I had with games was while I was an elementary student. I do have some basic knowledge so I thought I would be able to keep up with her to a certain extent. While having Miyu leaning on my back, I headed to the download page of the game. This one! Trailblazer! Trailoh the pioneer one. It seems like the official site abbreviates it to TB. While not giving much information about the worlds setting, the homepage had quotes like Find out with your own eyes! and You are a pioneer!. I find that kind of stuff a bit annoying. It seems to be your usual middle ages MMO with a sword and magic fantasy setting, apparently, the NPCs are equipped with the latest AI. From the looks of it, the NPCs will give you quests on their own under certain circumstances. Players actions will affect stuff like the economy of the game and the goods circulation routes. The balance between countries can also be affected. At that moment, a *pipi* electronic sound signaling that the headset had finished charging reverberated. As if it was confirming that the headset had finished charging, the game also finished downloading at the exact same moment. As she saw that, Miyu who had been waiting impatiently urged me on. Ok, lets go! Eh, already? At least let me go to the toile- You can leave that for later! At least let me bring some water and food. We are probably going to be playing for a long time. You can leave that for la-eh? Is it OK if we play for long!? Then I want some water too. Got it. Wait here for a bit. After making the preparations we lie horizontally. Its not like we are going to sleep, so it kind of feels weird. I let Miyu use the bed, while I used a cushion and lie on the carpet. Its a bit hard, my body will probably hurt all over after this but it cant be helped. It seems like while you are playing, a part of your brain becomes isolated and is used to move an artificial body inside the game. Obviously, your body will still breathe and continue doing the actions necessary to stay alive. Then I put the VR headset on my headUwah, the bit that hits my temple has an electrode connected to it, this This is scary, is it really safe? Im starting to get a bit anxious. I do want to believe it is since in this day and age virtual reality has made medical progress but Hey Miyu. As I put this on I- zzZZ.zzZZ Started to feel sleepysigh Like always, shes always fast to take action. Lying on the bed while facing upwards, her well-developed breasts were regularly going up and down. Shes too defenselesswait, isnt her belly showing! After putting a blanket over her, I lowered the AC so that we dont catch a cold. I also went to check that all the doors were locked. The crime prevention system is also working. With all that doneWell then, I should start too. I headed back to my room, put on the headset and touched the power button on the side of the headset. After hearing an electronic message, my consciousness began its journey through the digital world. Chapter 2 As I regained consciousness, I found myself in a placed the looked like an entrance. While I was absentmindedly standing there, a window suddenly popped up in front of me asking me to input my personal data. Seems like the first thing that showed up was the login window. I entered the ID and password that I made a while ago and proceeded to the next step. Proceeding to scan body data A digital voice that came from somewhere instructed me to wait where I was. Suddenly, the sense of reality started to come back to me. Going from a state that was close to having a dream to something closer to reality. OohThere are no words to describe this kind of feeling. I started to move my hands and legs like the guide was telling me to and it also answered the questions I had. It doesnt feel any different from moving a real body. After saying Yes at the last verification window, it entered a slightly long procedure. Adjustments completed. Well proceed to perform the avatars settings. A window appeared in front of me again. It seems like next was the customization window. Medium build and black hair with a hairstyle where the bangs partially covered the eyes. In the window, there were options you could click on. Doing so would bring up the modifiable data. Though, the only things that you could change were the skin color, hair color and the existence of tattoos. Theres not many optionsoh well, it just makes things easier. It seems that in order to bring a sense of comfort and realism they dont tamper with the players physique and bone structure. For example, if you were to play with a physique thats far from your real self, once you went back to reality you would have issues moving your body properly. Another example would be that during an experiment, the subject was doing movements that would be physically impossible for a human being and after the experiment, the muscle fibers in his arm went BAM! and got rupturedthats so scary. Though it does seem like the retail version has some limiters set on them. Basically, if you want to play, your avatar should be close or identical to your physical appearance in order to move properly. In the old days it must have been really problematic if your personal information got out. Even if just by changing your hair color would change the impression one person gives. With the net bills currently passed these days, the percentage of criminals caught by the police has been rising. You could say that its gotten easier to retrace the steps performed by said criminals. Anonymous bulletin boards are still rather active, but I believe the cases where people slander and flame others have become scarce. Thats why people that reveal who they are in social networks have been increasing and the people that are opposed to the idea has been decreasing. Even someone like Miyu who used to say things like Even then! and hid her face, has made a promise with me to play a VR game these days. Hmm If there were more options, it would be nice to go as a muscular middle-aged man, but thats no longer possible unless you play non-VR games. I also dont think I want to change my hair color or the color of my skintattoos wont look good on me either, like that, I kept proceeding without making changes. A robe that will conceal my figure, a mask that will hide my face and so onfor now, Ill just take what I can get. With that, I finished checking everything. In the end, I had to enter a nameOK, guess this should be good enough. With this, you have completed all the initial settings. Welcome to Trailblazer! With those last words from the electronic voice, my eyes were enveloped by the light again. Just as I was thinking thata rural village appeared before my eyes. When I looked around me, I saw people that looked like players doing the same thing as me and moving around awkwardly while confirming their surroundings. It might be because its launch day, there was a number of people that didnt fit the rural scenery. I took off the robe and mask because they were in the way and placed them in the inventory, which was attached to the waist in the form of a pouch. The robe and mask turned into light and were absorbed by it. But, where is Miyu? Kya! Geez, why are there so many people! From the crowd of people, a chestnut colored hair woman came out and fell down. Why isnt anyone helping her? I made my way through the players and reached her. Are you OK? Th-Thank youyou are different from the other visitors Visitors? Hearing her words I noticed something. Above the womans head, the name Claris was shown in white letters. While the names of the other players were displayed in blue letters. As expected, this personis a NPC. But, the fact that she stood up when I offered help and I was able to feel her body temperature, makes this feel weird. We call people who came out from the gate that. They are also called that in the legends I seesorry for asking so many questions, but whats this legend you speak of? When the southern skies turn crimson, the gate to the outer world will open. If those people are not stopped, the world will undergo great changesuch a legend exists in this country. I never thought that the gate would appear in such a remote village though I see It seems like players are treated as beings that came from another world. When I looked behind me, I saw a gate emitting a mysterious crimson light in the air. So we came out from thereif it was this kind of setting, its true that it was an unexpected event. We are these many people after all. So basically, Claris-san came to check on the gate, but a crowd of people suddenly appeared and she couldnt get out, something like that? After that, I exchanged some words with Claris-san and we split up. It seems like this village is called Altrowa Village, seems like she manages a second-hand shop inside the village. As thanks she wants to give me a discount so she told me to go to her shop later, after advertising her shop and providing me with a customer service smile, she left. Now that I think about it, it felt like I was talking to a normal personthey are incredible, these days AIs. Hey! While I was in a daze, a female with long silver hair and dark skin that I had no recollection of, approached me while waving her hand. Who is she greeting? I only took a glance, but she gave the aura of a beautiful woman, if the person she was greeting was a man, Id feel envious. Hey, Wataru! Why are you ignoring me! The person whose arm she grabbedwas me!? Not knowing who this person was, I stared at her for a while. Oh? This faceand this voice! Wait, you are Miyu!? Whats with that hair and that skin color!? When I saw you from a distance I couldnt tell who it was Umu. It was a good opportunity, so I went and reversed the colors! How is it? Does it suit me!? Rather than suiting you To begin with, Miyu was fair skinned and with long black hair. With her looks and body, you could say that among Japanese people she was distinctly beautiful. Now that she had reversed those colorsright, she was like that. That race that appears in fantasy works. You kind of look like a dark elf I thought so too. If there is an accessory that makes your ears long, I plan to use it AhI see Even though it shouldnt really suit her because of her Japanese featuresI guess its the advantage of being beautiful. In my case, the beginner equipment looks like western style light clothes and they dont really suit me. Makes me look like a peasant and weak at that. So, Miyu- Stop right there. Thats no good Hmm? Calling me by my real game is prohibited. The great feeling of immersion will diminish if you do! Didnt you just call me with my real name a moment ago? Even though it was to search for me. Though, I guess its some kind of manners. I see. In that case, whats your character name? Its Yumir! So you basically reversed your name and since the length was not long enough, you added a R at the end, huh How did you know!? I mean, it was too simpleyour way of thinking. Its also similar to a name of a giant in Norse mythology, but since its her, she probably wasnt aiming for that Since it sounds good, I dont think its that weird for her to choose that name. I settled on Hind Hind? You mean that Russian att- Not that helicopter! Why do we even know about that, both of us. The Hind with the simple meaning of being at the rear Hey, dont tell me Because Ill just stay behind you Hey! She looks dissatisfied. However, renaming is impossible so Mi-Yumir reluctantly consented. Since there were too many people near the gate, we started to move away from there. On the way, Yumir regained her spirit and pulled me towards the place that looked like the exit of the village. This way, Hind! Wait wait. Where are we going? Whereanyway, lets just go outside! I want to try fighting against some monsters! Just like that? Is that okay? We havent really made any preparations though. A few minutes later. In a place called Dondery forest, the clueless us had our HP depleted after receiving successive strikes. Our opponent was a common one in games like this, a monster with the appearance of a giant bee. We died peacefully and respawned in the village. It was terrible Thats why I told you it was impossible bare handed! T-thats right. Usually you would have a weapon If you knew, why did you just charge in? Ah, it seems like an indicator has appeared in front of me. During the time you are a beginner, there wont be any death penaltiesAh, Im so glad. However, this means there will be death penalties in the futureoh well, if there was nothing, the feeling of tension would be gone after all. We sat down in the plaza that had comparatively fewer people than before and started to sort our information. We confirmed various things, first off, it seems like when you open the status menu you can start the tutorial. Youd normally do thisthe only idiots that would just suddenly go outside were probably just us. Doing so will let you decide on your beginner job, once you have made your choice, theyll give you a beginner weapon that fits the class you have chosen as a present. Until level 10 you are free to change your job whenever you want, once you reach level 10 youll have to make your final choice, the information provided went like that. After having finished the tutorial, both of us were groaning at all the jobs that were lined up. Alright, Ill become a knight! Lets see, hmmbalanced in terms of offense and defense, once leveled up it can use magic swords and counters. Ah, like those heroes or magic knights from old games. It reminds you of those offline RPGs. Isnt it cool!? Well, isnt it fine? Being a dark elf, Id think dark powers would be better though. She always liked being flashy after all, this one. That kind of thing doesnt suit me. Since its going as expectedif thats the case, naturally my role has already been decided. In that case, Ill be the rear guard. Shinto priest? This one What!? You are not going to fight next to me!? And you call yourself a man!? No, whats with that reasoningmen cant be rear guards? Besides, Ive already said it, Im Hind I didnt mean it that waystuff like combination sword skills! or combo skills! I wanted to do stuff like that with you! Even though you already know Im not that type of person. Just give up Gununu Nothing will change even if you act like that. Its not like Im completely confident in saying this, but I believe my reflexes are not that good. When thinking about VR games, if you wanted to be a vanguard, I judged that not having good reflexes would dull your movements. Actually, when we were fighting that bee, I was the one that got stabbed and died before Miyu. Even if theres no difference in our stats, it showed that there was a big difference in our evasion and defense. In that case, Ill choose the rear guard class Shinto priest to support Yumir once she goes to the front. Come on, Lets equip the weapon already and go try one more time. It seems like they have given us some items along with the equipment Hmm, you are right. All of them have beginner attached to their names though So all of this can only be used until level 10, huhso it basically means that you should remember the basics of the game until then Seems like the experience gain has been increased for one day too. Looking at the things that appeared in my inventory, these are definitely stuff that they had prepared for launch day. I took out the beginner wooden staff from my inventory and equipped it. Uwah, so lame!? This, isnt this just a random branch that fell from a tree instead of a wooden staff? If I were to speak honestly, it looked really dull. At the end of the branch theres even a leaf attached to it If its performance is really good even while looking like this, it would make it something like a branch of Yggdrasil or the like. Hind What is it? wait, so you also got a wooden stick This is not being a knightits just as if I was a kid playing around In Yumirs case, it was a thick stick around the same length as a sword, but their appearances were deceiving. Because they say they have infinite endurance, this wood must be made from some mysterious material. In terms of offensive stats, the staff gives 5 points and the sword 10. However, the staff increases magic attack by 5 points. When I checked, being bare-handed at level 1 your attack would be 1 point, this is definitely much better than not having anything. Hurry up and acquire some proper equipment, it gives the feeling that the developers are pressuring us to do that. Well, instead of receiving some wonderful equipment right from the bat, I believe this will motivate us more and is a good thing. W-whatever. You are done preparing, right? In that case, lets go Hind! Arent we going join a random party? I dont care! We are going with just the both of us! Ah, wait just a moment! Yumir started to run at full speed. I only have confidence in my stamina, but shes so fast that I think itll be hard to keep up! Chapter 3 I used the wooden stick as a cane to hit the enemy. When I did, a very realistic sensation was transmitted to my hand. While scattering body fluids all over the place, the bees body was split in half. Gross! This is so pointlessly realistic! Oh, Hind! I leveled up! Yup, you are right. We have reached level 3 When I looked downwards while listening to Yumirs high spirited voice, a ring of light ascended from under my feet signaling that I had leveled up. After equipping the wooden branch, everything went well. There was no restriction to the number of times you could use the beginner potions, we earnestly kept fighting monsters without returning to the village. Because there are many players in the field we had to keep moving, but we have been able to level up without much trouble. I was wondering how launch day would be, but it seems like everyone is pretty well mannered. We were taking a break after defeating the monster, while I was playing around with the wooden stick Yumir began talking to me. Shall we go to the next area? Im getting tired of fighting these bees No, lets keep fighting here for a bit longer. Judging from the displayed levels, the monsters here are up to level 5 So, you mean thats a reasonable level to move on? I think sowait, why is a gamer like you listening to me? What about the other online games youve played? No idea! I usually just kept going in high spirits! Where have I heard those words before? I somehow feel a strange sensation Feeling that it was something trouble I stopped thinking about it. When it comes to monster information, their levels are displayed on top of them the same way player levels are displayed. The monster from a while ago seems to be called Killer bee. There are slight differences in levels, as far as Ive seen in this forest, they seem to be in the range of level 15. You could tell the level of a specimen was high because they were bigger than others and it seems like their HP increases accordingly to their level too. Anyway, its like that. After talking about it, we have decided to stick around in this place called Dondery Forest but Hyaha! Die! Uwah, what!? Hind! Suddenly, a player wearing a ski mask attempted to hit me with a club. I was unable to dodge it and it hit me, taking away a third of my HP. Judging from his build and voice it seems like hes a guybut why is a player attacking me!? In order to protect me, Yumir stepped in the middle. What are you trying to do!? No need for talking! Normies should die! Nor-eh? The man continued to attack and Yumir defended herself with the wooden stick. Wanting to understand the situation even if it was just a little bit, I looked at the top of the mans head. Player name, Poker Face. Where is the poker face! Wait, its not like I can see his face because of the mask though! I cant see it but! Hes level 5 and his player nameis yellow!? Probably having noticed that,Yumir looked at me and gave me a warning. Hind, this guy is a PK! His name still hasnt turned orange, but hes an evil player! Whats tha-That was dangerous! Stop running awayyyyy! Its the abbreviation for player killers! They do stuff like stealing from others, or they just commit crimes for fungeez, that doesnt matter right now! What do we do!? Even if you ask me thatit doesnt look like he will listen to us. So in this game players can attack other players? While healing Yumir who was defending against the continuous attacks from the man, I exchanged words quickly with her. What happens if we defeat this guy!? Theres no penalty if we defeat a player whose name color is other than blue! Are we going to do it!? Alright, beat him up, Yumir! Alright! Buheh!? Having received Yumirs attack with the side of his face, the man was blown away energetically. However, maybe it was because he was wearing a leather armor that wasnt part of the beginner equipment, he didnt seem to have taken much damage. He stood up immediately and confronted us again. That was nothing! Until I beat all the couples around the world to death, I wont be defeated! I dont get what you are talking about I dont either, this is bad Yumir. Theres too much of a difference between our gear and levels! Yumir started to exchange blows with the masked man again. When it comes to physical ability Yumir had the upper hand, but because her character stats were inferior shes losing. Each time she takes damage, Im healing her with potions and healing magic, but the healing cant keep up with the damage! In his case, even if we keep inflicting small damage onto him, he heals entirely with a single healing item, I cant see how we are going to win this! H-Hind! Do something please! L-lets run away for now! Take this, sand to the eyes! Uwoh! My eyes! My eyes! D-dont you dare run away, you normies! I grabbed some sand and threw it at him, without deciding on a direction we just started to run away. As a result, we exited Dondery Forest and came to an area called Homa Plains. That guy is so persistent! I dont know what kind of misunderstanding he had, but we are not a couple! Dieeeeeeee! Geez! Stop getting in the way of our time together! Hah!? Haaaah!? You said your time together!? A-ah!? Thats even more unforgivable! What did you even hear!? Hind! Im thinking! I was searching for players that could save us from being pursued, but unfortunately, there was no one around. I thought that if there were players that loathed PKs around they would help us but Is there any other way.oh! Yumir, endure for a minute! Nu! I got it! I dont know why you are getting along so well! Die peacefully and get into an argument later! What I had found, was a being other than a player that could probably defeat that guy. After using a healing item and healing magic on Yumir, I left that place. Then I proceeded to deal some damage to that while being careful to not get too far from them, I increased their numbers. Because of my negligence, an attack hit methat hurts! So scary, if I take several blows at this level, my HP will just disappear! Seeing a third of my HP go away in a single hit, I started to get nervous and my back felt cold. Besides, they smell terrible! Why do the developers fuss over these pointless small details! Before long, I was being chased by many of them and I forced myself to run at full speed. This is so tiring! Move awayyy!, Yumir! Left, to the left! !? H-Hind, you! An opening! I got y-!? The level 6 monsters I had gathered while running around the plainsthe goblins were accompanying me, guided by me, the group collided with the masked man. Because he was absorbed in his fight with Yumir, He was not able to avoid my arm and fell down. I proceeded to jump over him. Gyaaaa! Guheh! Gohah!? After he was run over by the group of monsters, they changed their target to the man and started to beat him to a pulp. The HP we had so much trouble shaving off, decreased rapidly with the goblins attacks. While looking dumbfounded at the situation, Yumir got closer to me. Uwahincredible. Hind, where did you learn about MPK? Ah, this was a method that already existed? Since PK means player killer MPK only has monster attached at the start. It can also be called train Ah, its true that it gives the impression of being followed by someone You really did it without knowing about it!? You are quite the scary guy True, the question would be if it was really necessary for us to do this. Even if we died, we would only have returned to the village after all If I had to say, it was just a matter of how we felt about it. Dont say that. Even if its a game, being killed in that way is something Id absolutely hate. Theres no way I could accept it That goes for me too! Eh, uhthan- I sense a love comedy event! I wont allo-gyaaaa! His last effort being in vain, the masked mans HP reached 0 points. Having verified that, we took a great distance from the goblins since we would be their next targets. The man turned gray and was unable to move from that spot. Not having any enemies within their range, the goblins left. The mans dead body turned into particles of light and disappeared. He probably returned to the starter village. Being released from that feeling of tension, we fell on our backs. Phew, Im so tired Me tooI had to run for some pointless reason To PK on launch day while ignoring what people saythey are so hardcore I dont believe that PKs dont share the same restrictions as us until level 10 Or, should I think that it was good that I came to know about their existence before I amassed a fortune? According to the details of the death penalty, it seems like youll lose some items if you get PKd after all Yumir who was using healing items while leaning on my back suddenly stopped moving as if she had remembered something. What happened? Hind, that guy was a member of a guild, you know? Eh, is that so? Umu. Under his player name, Normie Extermination Committee was displayed Whats with that name?there are other people like that? At the very least, its not something youd do on launch day You are completely right. H-however, that thing he said! I-its troubling! You and me, eh, huht-that we are lov- Ah. That was so bothersome Yumir, who turned around quickly after hearing my words, started to pull my cheeks while looking really angry. Why!? Ive only said that PKs were bothersome! Anyway, having repelled the PK, we continued to raise our levels. Chapter 4 Since we are already here, lets try fighting the monsters that are here! When Yumir said such a stupid thing, I let out a sigh and prepared to suggest going back to the forest. What is this girl even saying? No no, you just saw that PK guy, right? Even though we had more people on our side, we couldnt even beat someone at level 5. We are still level 3, you know? Its impossible even if its only one!? unlike that PK they probably wont heal themselves, so its not like we wont be able to defeat them. If we are talking about efficiencyno, lets give it a try. Ill try to support you properly Fufufu, I actually have a secret weapon! Hmm? Yumir opened her menu and started to operate it. After she was done, the wooden stick on her back disappeared and in its place, something that looked more like a sword appeared. Wait, when did you get- I picked it up after a bee dropped it! How is it? I look like a knight now, right!? You are right. Now you need to mount on a horse, wear some armor and youd look like a splendid knight from some country Right, right!? Well then, lets go! Charge! Shes not even listening to me After that, I wanted her to show me the data of the sword just in case, but Yumir didnt listen when I urged her to switch back to the beginner gear For the record, the sword she had equipped was called Crude Broadsword and it had the same attack as the stick. Aside from that its endurance was only3 points. During that time, we returned to the place we were at the beginning of the incident. I initially expected we would be able to beat them but I was completely wrong, the sword was damaged and we were utterly defeated. Since Yumir was easily defeated, I used the holy water to revive her and we decided to return to Dondery Forest for the time being. Alright, we arrived. Walking this much, I can see just how far we were chased Umu, you are right. Then, what should we do first? You said you wanted to verify something? First, I want to see how experience is distributed in a party. Thenwe are going to level up soon, right? I want to know how much the experience differs because of our levels Hmmm? I dont really get it, so give me the instructions! Yumir followed my orders and drew her sword. Lets start by experimenting on the Killer bee we have gotten used to. Its probably the weakest monster in this gamebut at the start, we challenged it bare-handed and lost. Isnt this quite embarrassing experience? Lets not tell anyone about this There are 2 types of monsters in this forest, the other type is a monster with the appearance of a caterpillar aptly named Caterpillar. While its movements are slow, they are stronger and have more HP than the Killer bees. When you think about it, they are about the same strength. After that, we disbanded and remade the party multiple times and we verified the amount of experience we got before leveling up, as a result As expected, it seems that hunting in a suitable area for our level is the best. Even if we kill a lot of small fries, the experience we get will be trashand then, since theres a small bonus of experience and experience is shared properly, supposing we kill stuff solo and in a party at around the same speed, it will be more efficient to do it solo. However, since thats not really realistic, in the end, its usually better to play as a party. To sum it up I dont get it! If we defeat monsters around our level while in a party, its faster and more efficient Oh, thats easy to understand! So, incredibly strong solo players might be faster than parties. They receive all the experience for themselves after all Just say that from the beginning! Ill say this, even if you have free time, playing solo is prohibited! O-oh I believe that finding a good hunting ground, is the most important thing in an RPG. Always going for efficiency might be boring, but since Yumir said it was launch dayguess we should focus on being efficient for the time being. So, lets review things for now. When it comes to the fundamentals in the game called TB, the stats are extremely simple. HP?MP?Attack?Defense?Magic attack?Magic resistance, these six. If you move your body in a way that shouldnt be possible in reality, once your consciousness returns to your body itll place a great burden on it, so they place limitations. Thats why, no matter how much you level up, your physical ability will stay the same. Thats why theres no real value for speed, the damage you deal will increase accordingly with your level, the damage you receive will decrease too. This way it can present how your strength has increased. In that case, lacking the reflexes, wasnt it the right choice for me to choose to be a rear guard? Then, if you increase your offensive ability while you dont have your weapon equipped, theres a system that affects the weight of the equipment making it lighter. This being the case, its possible to give players the impression that they are getting stronger even if they dont increase their real-life physical strength, a method that wont affect your real life body. To sum it up, when you level up your power will go up and you will be able to use heavier weapons. When it comes to defensive equipment its the same, depending on your base defensive stats itll feel lighter too. Because of this, if you have a job that will have high base attack and defense you will be able to use heavier gear than the ones we have currently. All this information is information that existed in the tutorial and Yumir lightheartedly didnt bother reading it. In reality, its true that after leveling up I feel that this wooden branch has gotten lighter, so I believe this information is true. That being said, the branch was light to begin with, theres also the possibility that Im just imagining it. Well then, what should we do about our current equipment? We should probably decide taking into consideration that its launch day. I wish I had some kind of indicator, in this case, lets try borrowing the knowledge of a gamer. Hey, Yumir. Does crafting exist in this game? Like blacksmithing or item crafting Of course! Ah. In that case, the weapons and armor that they sell in NPC stores Usually, their performance is worse than the ones players craft! Though its to be expected! As I thought, it was like that. In that case, I have to do that graduallythis girl is bad at attentive work after all. If thats the case, materials and money are absolutely necessary as an initial investment. So we should sell everything that doesnt look like well use and be careful when buying things. Hmmalright, its decided. Lets use the beginner gear until level 10 When I said that, Yumir made a face as if she had just received the death penalty. That much!? Does she hate the beginner gear that much!? Why!? I hate this lame wooden stick! Shes still going on about appearances, huh. However, Yumiryou dont get the wonderfulness of this beginner gear! Ill teach you about it right now! I swung my fist to emphasize it. You are such an idiot, the beginner gear is free! If something has a set endurance, youd have to go to a store and repair it with a whetstone, and that will incur various expenses, right!? Not having any endurance means that its maintenance costs are 0! If its for fighting, this branch and that stick are more than enough! Since its launch day, well be patient until level 10, not use any of the drops and pick everything up! Free of charge, gratis, 0 yen, service articles, sales, discountssuch pleasant words. Wait, I think about half of them have a different meaning. Yumir took a step back because of my menacing look. Gunuhthis damn economist However, are we really going to be fine until level 10? Think about how our stats increase to match the increase in stats on the enemies, I believe its designed to be doable. Even the goblin you fought in the plains, it didnt feel like an enemy you wouldnt be able to defeat, right? If your sword hadnt broken Nuright, I believe he did take damage. Since that sword had the same offensive ability as this wooden stick As the developers had thoroughly displayed, until level 10 its what you would call the games beginner zone. I believe the difference in enemy strength is moderate at best. I guessed that the beginner gear would be enough to clear it. That being the case, theres no need for things like that incomplete set the PK guy was wearing. When I said we should leave the plains, it was because beating a monster would have taken too long even if we fought there, lets seewe are level 5 now, huh. I believe now that we have reached this point it should be faster So you are saying that the speed at which you beat monsters is important, huhif we fought goblins at our current level, you mean that it will be more efficient? Thats right. When it comes to gear, it would be better to immediately obtain and change to gear thats crafted by playersbut in reality, thats impossible right now? It would be impossible. Even if you learned it, it would normally take time to acquire that kind of skill. More importantly, we dont know any crafters within the game Besides, arent you forgetting about something? Inside our inventory Ah! The experience items! Thats right. After taking various things into consideration, I thought that it would be better to just rush with the beginner gear today. What do you think? When she heard my words, Yumir just kept nodding over and over. You dont have to look at me with those glittering eyes, its not like I thought of something that special. Its embarrassing so please stop. After finishing that simple verification, now that we had reached level 5, we headed towards Homa plains. On the way, Yumir opened her menu and something started to bother her. Hind, are you still fine on time? Hmm? What time is it now? 3pm Ah, I think Ill be fine until 5pm. Then Ill have to make preparations for dinner and wait for Rise. Hmm? I can understand having to make preparations for dinnerbut why do you have to wait for Rise? She should have the keys to the house, right? Rise is my little sister. Since she went to cram school today, she was currently absent from home but For some reason, whenever Im at home she said that she wants me to come open the door and greet her. She just leaves the keys in the living room on purpose. Since she was small she got lonely easily, but its like Im some kind of dog waiting for its owner to return home Tsk, that brocon Hmm? Did you just say broco- Its nothing! You just misheard it! I-I see. Both of you dont get along after all Miyu has a pretty straightforward personality, so she doesnt tend to dislike many people but She seems unable to get along with Rise, the times it becomes dangerous after they meet are many. However, they dont get into a fight, they just exchange some abusive language between them and stop, its hard for me to say anything. I pray for the day they are able to settle their differencesoh, I should change this atmosphere. We are playing a game after all, lets have some fun. Anyway, we are taking a break at 5pm. However, since we are here, lets aim to get to level 10 before 5pm Ooh, you sure are motivated, Hind! Yeah. This game is pretty detailed so its gotten fun. Right, have you noticed? If you hit a Killer bee in the thin parts of its torso, it takes more damage So they have set weak points!? I didnt notice Because this is a VR game, it doesnt have a targeting system. Since you can aim freely, each player has to choose what part they want to attack. The existence of weak points broadens the strategic side of the game, I can say that I really like this system. I believe their abdomens are called scapes. Since ants and bees evolved from the same species their structures are similar Whats with you! Are you an insect expert!? I liked insect picture books when I was small, its information I remember from back then. Though it would be impossible for me to remember it all nowwait, that wasnt what I wanted to say. Lets return back to the previous topic, we should search for the weak point of the goblins once we reach the plains. That way we can have fun leveling up When I gave a suggestion going by the information we had verified a while ago, Yumir opened her eyes wide. Again? Is what I thought, but her reaction this time was more extreme. The corners of Yumirs mouth suddenly rose up. Ahahaha! Hind! Hind! W-what is it? Stop hitting my back! It hurts, it hurts! She suddenly burst out laughing, I thought she had gone insane. The face of Yumir, who was hitting my back, had a good smile, though I didnt know what she was really thinking. Right now, Im having the most fun of all the games Ive played! Its so fun, Hind! I-I see, Im happy for you? Umu! Its the best! After that, Yumir was in a great mood. Then, it might be because even her physical condition was in perfect form, she crushed all the monsters in front of us one by one once we reached the plains. When I noticed, we had been able to reach level 10 in an hour. Chapter 5 After that, we returned to the entrance of the place we initially departed from Altrowa Village. Oh, there are more people than before. Its the games launch day after all. Seems like we wont have to worry about the game service ending because of low population. Since we werent dissatisfied with our jobs, we decided to go ahead with knight and Shinto priest. After we reached level 10 in the field an option appeared at the same time, right after that, the beginner gear disappeared in front of our eyes. Farewell, wooden stick, wooden branch, potions, holy water. Once we reached the plaza, Yumir started to stretch. We are done! Just fighting mobs is not bad, but I want to fight a boss! Theres not enough excitement! The Homa plains are vast, shouldnt there be something further on? The monsters in all directions were trash monsters but their levels were high after all I see, I look forward to that! Apart from the goblins in the plains, there were horned rabbits called Almirage. Since the Almirage was a monster that focused on speed and offense, if you were not careful, it was a dangerous monster that could take your HP in one go. However, their HP was pretty low, so if you preemptively attacked them they were easy to beat, making them a good source of experience. Their weak point was the base of their horn. When it comes to goblins, their weakness is the base of their neck, seems like they have set the weak areas to be extremely small. However, is it really OK to leave all the items and gold to me? Yumir, what are you going to do about healing items? You could call it leaving it to others or not being greedy. Does she not want to go look through stores herself? The answer Yumir gave me, seems to have been based on her own weaknesses. Im basically not going to play with anyone other than you so there should be no problems. Besides, you seeyou know that if I had the money, I would just spend it, right? Well yeahfor some reason, Akifumi ojisan leaves your allowance in my hands. You normally wouldnt hear something like that Even if we are childhood friends, Im the child of another family, you know? What does he regard me asI want to ask him, but somehow Im scared of it. Even the cost of this VR gear, I believe Miyu asked him directly to for the money. This girls family is pretty wealthy, so even if Miyu doesnt have a part-time job, her allowance is pretty big. That being the case, please take care of it even inside the game! Using the in-game money as practice, dont you have any intention of fixing the way you waste money? No! Why!? In the end, I was forced to look after all the drops and gold. When it comes to item trading, there doesnt seem to be able issues as long as both parties agree to it. From what Yumir said, it seems like the inventory is like an item box and you its not possible to go through it, so theres no way to use the trade feature to forcibly take items against another players will. However, because I took all sort of things, my inventory is full The next time I log, I should sort the items. After that I should prepare weapons for usoh, there was something I wanted to ask her. So, Yumir. Once I have some free time I plan to make our weapons, if you have any requests just tell me. I still dont know what I can make, so just give me an idea for now Oh, so you are taking up crafting as expected. Lets seea drill, maybe? What? Yumir easily left me unable to think. !? No no! I wanted to know if you prefer a sword or a spear, you are a knight after all! What do you even mean by drill! It has a nice ring to it, right? Think about it, drills make you think that they are another type of spea- They dont! Youve already chosen to be a knight, what are you even talking about!? Rejected, rejected! When she heard my words, Yumir made a displeased face. I dont get it. Isnt that the expression I should be making? In that casedual guns Middle ages! This game a middle ages fantasy game! Iron fan! Can you just stop already! Kusarigama They are shady weapons, both of them! If you are a knight, fight fair and square! Ball- If you say ballistic knife, Im going to hit you! As one would expect, after Yumir saw me readying my fist, she proceeded to shut up. By the way, the thing called a ballistic knife is a knife with a powerful spring built in, making it able to shoot a blade. It goes without saying thatthats not a weapon a knight would use. A, a normal sword is fine Just say that from the beginning! Ill just make a normal one, Ill leave the more detailed ones for the second onward Umu. Actually, I dont really have a clear image for it yet. I might be able to think of it after using the sword for a bit more In that case, what was all that pointless conversation we just had For the record, if you use a weapon thats not suited for your class you will get a penalty, making them basically trash. Once I equipped Yumirs stick, its attack was reduced to 1 point, so theres no doubt about it. In the status window, you can see that knights fundamentally use swords or spears and Shinto priests use maces or staves. So, this is everything for today, right? Hind Right. You are going to eat dinner too, right? Its going to be a feast! That makes it five portions then. Lets logout Umu! five? I opened the menu and pressed the log out option. The digital body started to disintegrate from my feet upwards. When I came to, the real word spread in front of my eyes. I cant see anything because I have the gear on me thoughin front of me, a message that said that the connection was terminated appeared. Is it OK if I take i off? Oh, the window disappeared. When I removed the VR gear, the setting sun was illuminating the room and I unconsciously frowned. With a similar face to mine, Miyu raised the upper part of her body and started to look around. Nuumy body hurts We played continuously without taking a break after all The part about a portion of your brain being isolated seems to be true, I had not moved at all from where I was when we started playing. It just that my body was feeling very stiff, from now on, we should probably take proper breaks. I get the feeling that we have overdone it this time. Hey, Wataru. Why did you say five portions? Well, go and bring Akifumi ojisan. After all, you probably ate some pre-made food for lunc- I didnt! Dont be like that. I was able to get the VR gear thanks to him, so I want to thank him. Go back for now and if it looks like he doesnt mind, bring him here For people like us that always eat instant food, theres no way that we would refuse! Dont try to act proud. How about you learn how to cook and start making your own meals That would mean I wouldnt be able to eat your food anymore, so no! If I learned, you would definitely tell me to cook it myself,right!? Wellshe might be right in that regard. My family might not have a father, but in her case, she doesnt have a mother. Both of our families have known each other for a while, but my father died from illness. In her case it was divorce, both of us had been unfortunate since junior high school. Since then, the times we have eaten together has increased but Anyway, its fine if I call him, right!? Im going! Ah, wait! If you stand up so suddenly- Nuoh! !!! As a result of not heeding my warning, while raising a feminine scream, Miyu slipped with the towel and fell down. Since I had bad reflexes, I tried to hold out my arms to catch Miyu butI wasnt able to stand firm, so while carrying Miyu in my arms I fell backward and my back hit the floor hard. Furthermore, the air in my lungs was let out because of the shock and I was in a state of lack of oxygen. C-cant breathe W-Wataru? H-hes dead! Im not! Is what I wanted to shout but my voice didnt come out. Miyu proceeded to poke my torso. Where are you touching! There are other things you should be doing, right? At times like this! Because my lungs were blocked, being unable to breath, I couldnt move 10 full seconds Gah! hah, hah Wataru! Are you OK!? Hang in there! W-what are you doing, you idiot! I couldnt breath and I thought I was going to die! An odd sound came from my throat, you know!? S-sorry! It wasnt on purpose! Of course it wasnt! Just go and bring him here already! Forgive me! While shouting her apology, Miyu left the room in a panic. After seeing that, I fell to my knees again in the room where silence had returned. Ugu. Because I had shouted while I was lacking oxygen, I was feeling dizzy Im glad that Miyu didnt get injured, but instead, I was in a pretty bad mood. Chapter 6 Hope to have it ready for tomorrow, in the meantime, here is another chapter of VRMMO. As a clarification, I did start to use ojisan in this series compared to Bu ni Mi where I tried to avoid doing it. However, in this chapter, it was apparent that the dialogues didnt flow well with it so Ill proceed to change it to uncle and edit it in the other chapters. Anyway, enjoy After having recovered, I went to the living room on the first floor and the intercom rang. Has Miyu already returned? Is what I thought butoh, right. I head towards the front door, turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door. There, the person I was expecting to be there was standing there as if she was tired of waiting. I have returned, nii-san My little sister Rise went inside while showing me a charming smile. She was about a head shorter than me, her hair color was lighter than mine and it waved in tandem with her movements. Whenever she comes back home, she always smiles as if she was relieved. Welcome back Rise. The door was open, right? Why didnt you just come in by yourself? Geez. Even though you already know why You mean when you mentioned that I had to come to greet you, right? You sure get lonely easily Thats right. I get lonely whenever nii-san is not here Rise proceed to place a hand behind her to lock the door. However, Miyu is going to come back so it should be better to leave it open. Miyu lives about five minutes from here, so it shouldnt take her long to go and come back. So I said this to Rise as I pointed at the door. Rise, dont lock the door. Miyu is going to come back later When I said that, hearing my words, Rises face stiffened. After that, as if she was digesting my words for several seconds, her eyes were wandering for a while Rise locked both of the locks and even hung up the chain, then smiled at me. Eh!? Why are you locking the door!? I told you to leave it open, right!? Im sorry, I heard wrong. More importantly, nii-san, werent you in the middle of some domestic chores? Ill open it, so go first Got it Even if Rise is lying and she doesnt leave the door open, if its locked, Miyu will probably ring the intercom. Since Ill be on the first floor, theres no way that I wont hear it, so there shouldnt be any problem. I left Rise at the entrance and headed into the kitchen, then I proceeded to start making preparations for dinner. Todays menu is beef stew. We got a big amount of french bread from an acquaintance so I was thinking about eating it together with that. As a Japanese, I could also make rice, but if we are talking about stew, bread goes better with it. Luckily, before Miyu came, I had already made the initial preparations. From around noon until 5pm, the ingredients had been pickled in red wine. The contents were: beef, onions, carrots, a small amount of garlic and five types of bay leaves. First I took the beef out, sprinkled it with some salt, pepper and wheat flour. Then I proceeded to stir fry it on a frying pan. A fragrant smell spread throughout the kitchenoh, I forgot to turn on the ventilation fan. There we go. Should I help? When I turned around, Rise was standing there after having changed from her uniform to casual clothes. As always, she was wearing my old clothes and they suited her really well. Sometimes, they didnt seem like the same clothes that I once woreshe does look really feminine in them and it does save money so it really helps. Since she had already put on an apron, guess Ill have her help out. Then, take the ingredients out of that pot and turn on the fire OK. I should just take out the scum once it starts boiling, right? Yup. Please do so Got it Once the meat started to gain color, I took the vegetables that Rise had taken out and started frying them too. Then I added tomato paste and added the beef with the vegetables to the pressure cooker. Next, I should pour the red wine after Rise has taken the scum out but Here, nii-san Thanks Without having to hear anything, Rise placed the chinois on top of the pressure cooker. I grabbed the pot while wearing kitchen mittens in both hands and poured the boiling wine on top of the chinois. Once we were done using it, Rise soaked the chinois in water. Yup, its like I had four hands and I felt at ease. I wiped the wine that had spilled. Now I should turn on the pressure cookerwait, why am I feeling something warm on my side? H-hey, whats with you doing this so suddenly? Ah, dont try to run away. Isnt it fine? We are done cooking, right? Its true that while the pressure cooker is working theres not much to do but The kitchen in our house is not very spacious. If we lined up in front of the heater, our shoulders would naturally touch. That was the case, but there was no need to be so close to each other? Ah, welluhwell done? It tickles, nii-san. Ah, Im so happy While feeling embarrassed, I patted her head in a way that wouldnt mess up her hairstyle. When I did so, Rise narrowed her eyes in delight as if she was a cat. The only one around that can spoil her is me, so I dont think I have much of a choice, but well Considering shes already 15 years old, Id like her to voluntarily get away from her brother a bit. Nii-san, where is Akeno-san? Rise proceeded to ask me that question with upturned eyes. Akeno is our mother. Kishikami Akeno, she works as a nurse. Mom said that she had some urgent work and that she would be late. She probably wont be back until around midnight? Ill leave some dinner for herthat being said, how about you call her mom already? She will cry, you know? While I was talking, Rise placed her head even closer to me. Rise and I are fellow children from parents that had remarried. The only person that was blood-related to her was our dad and he died, it might be because she was lonely, but she stuck close to me. Contrary to that, theres a distance with the mother that is usually away from home because of work. Its not like they dont get along, but mom feels a bit lonely because of Rises attitude. Its fine, its likea stubbornness of mine. Until one day I can call her mother in the truest sense of the word Hmm? I dont really get it butyou mean that when that time comes, youll properly call her mom? Lets seethat would depend on nii-sanfufu Depend on me? Why? Why is the way she refers to mom related to what I do? In the truest sense of the word? At that moment, a strange sound could be heard behind me. I gently separated from Rise and turned towards the soundthe window of the living room? It wasnt a familiar sound, I had an ominous feeling. Ill go take a look. Ill leave the timer of the pressure cooker to you, set it to 30 minutes Ah, is it over already? Just ignore it. What if it was a suspicious person? Mom left taking care of the house to me, I have a duty to protect it Nii-san you meanie I left managing the cooking to Rise and approached the window with the closed curtain. Did a bird collide with it? However, it did make a weird sound as if something was sticking to it. I opened the curtain to take a look outside and my eyes met with something in the darkness. Bloodshot eyes were staring at me Hii!?Wait, Miyu!? Just when I thought about what it could be, I saw Miyu with both of her hands and face stuck to the window. Her beauty was ruined! If the people at school saw her like this, they would probably faint? Particularly the younger female students Since she had stopped sticking to the window after noticing me, I immediately opened the window. What do you think you are doing? What about you!? Isnt it cruel of you to not come out even when I ring the intercom!? Or did that body press mess up with your brain!? When I told dad about it, he said that youd forgive me if I prostrated on the floor so as an apolog- Stop doing that! Wait, you said you rang the intercom? When? Hmm? Ive been doing it for five minutes? I rang it 16 times! Too many, you idiot! Wait, I didnt hear the intercAh! Wataru? Because of Miyus words, I left the living room in a hurry and checked if the intercom was turned on. Ah, its turned off as I had expected! Since it was still on when I went to greet Rise, there can only be one culprit. Rise, did youshes not there!? She got me! There were no signs of Rise being there, only that of the pressure cooker with steam coming from it after having its settings changed. Isnt this going too far for just a prank!? Sorry, Miyu! Ill open the door immediately so go back to the front door! Ill explain the situation to uncle Akifumi! Hmm? I dont really get it, but you are not angry, right? Im not. In fact, I should be the one apologizing herehah. That Rise After that, I grabbed the neck of Rise, who had escaped to my room for some reason instead of her own room and went to earnestly apologize to uncle Akifumi. To not let them in after I had invited them, I can only say that it was a really rude thing to do. Well, shes at a quite delicate age. Dont scold Rise-chan that much Wataru-kun. Uncle doesnt really mind Sorry! Im really sorry! Yay! I love uncle Rise! Whats with that attitude! You, is that the attitude of someone apologizing!? Hahaha. You have it hard, Wataru-kun Uncle Akifumi He looked happy, smiled at us and accepted our apology. At first glance, he looked like a slim and kind man with black hair that made him seem young but With that being said, Im counting on you to take care of Miyu. If I leave her in your care, Ill be relieved Uncle Akifumi!? Umu, its like dad said! Itd be a relief! Wahahaha Right I guess you can guess from how synchronized their laughs were, but uncles personality is about the same as Miyu. His occupation is the head chief of the sales department in a pharmaceutical company. People refer to him with Mr within the company, it might be because the job asks a lot of him, but when hes outside work, he was quite sloppy. He likes playing golf on his days off so he tends to be absent from home, thats why the times he came over together with Miyu were not many. I made both of them wait in the living room. After some time, I gave the beef stew its finishing touches. In the meantime, I had Rise prepare the potatoes and broccoli that would be used as a garnish. Then I placed the frying pan that was still a bit hot on top of the dining table, with this, dinner was ready. When she saw the beef stew that was still producing steam, Miyu leaned forward and made a face that looked as if she was on the verge of starting to droll. Thats bad manners. oohhh! Can we eat it? Can we really eat it!? Dont be so hasty, though as the one that cooked it, it makes me happy. Ill finish placing the plates, so wait So vulgar Muttered Rise in a low voice. However, she made an expression that clearly displayed that she had said that. Naturally, being fed up with that kind of abusive language, Miyus beautiful eyebrows stood up. Ah? Did you say something, midget? Hah? Just because your figure is a bit good, dont get so full of yourself. Its unpleasant When these two are together, its usually like this. Since I and uncle are already used to it, there wasnt much of a reaction. Once they start eating they will stop quarreling, so I dont think theres anything to worry about. Uncle, heres some wine. Theres some in the stew, but thats another matter You are so attentive to things like this. Then, guess uncle might drink quite a bit today As we started to eat, they stopped fighting. Yup, this is fine. The way we arranged seats was with Rise next to me, Miyu in front and uncle diagonally opposite to me. Each one of us joined both hands together and proceed to take simultaneously some of the beef stew with a spoon. Hmm, delicious. The moderate sourness, the sweetness of the vegetables and this rich fragranceit wont lose to the one they made in the western restaurant I was invited to last week, Wataru-kun Thank you very much. However, compared to the highly rated restaurant you went towhere they cook them for a week until its done, theres no comparison. Especially when it comes down to stews Haha, you are so humble. If only a normal familys level of cooking was like thisright, Miyu? Nugu Its fine, you dont have to say anything. Look, Wataru-kun. Look at how immersed Miyu is. To have such a childhood friend, my daughter is really fortunate Nugu! A-ah, thanks I believe shes like that no matter what she eats thoughoh well. The beef stew was quite popular. Other than the portion I had left for mom, the frying pan was cleaned up so as the one that had cooked it, I felt satisfied. As uncle Akifumi had said, he drank an entire bottle of wine and went back home with Miyu while they both looked satisfied. Chapter 7 Before getting into the chapter I want to address something that was asked in the comments yesterday. You probably have noticed that theres no next or previous chapter buttons at the end of the posts. This and some other stuff is something that I would personally love to add, but unfortunately, theres no easy way to add them for me unless I make use of plugins. Due to the current WordPress plan Im paying for, I still dont have access to them and upgrading to the necessary plan would take a fair amount of money that I honestly cant really pay for something Im currently doing for free. I know Im going to start sounding like a broken record to those that have been reading my releases for a while, but you probably have seen that Ive set up a patreon at the top. If there ever comes a day where there are enough pledges to cover the costs of the plan, Ill proceed to upgrade the plan and make changes to the blog so you can read more comfortably. As its mentioned there, they are just a form of monthly donations and wont give any benefits to the reader. My releases will always be public and I have no intention to hide releases behind any kind of paywall even if I release at a fast pace. For the time being, youll have to make do by going to the series page. Dont worry, itll be updated right after I release a chapter so you wont be missing any releases. Anyway, that should explain things to the new readers, enjoy the chapter. The next day, Monday, 9pm. An hour before the time I had promised to meet up with Miyu, I had finished my domestic chores and had some free time. Before I noticed, I had already put on the VR gear and lay down on top of the bed without anyone telling me to do so. Seems like Im more immersed in TB than I thought. Before starting, I relaxed my bodyand immediately turned it on and logged in. Then, the scenery completely changed, I was standing in the plaza of Altrowa Village where I had logged out the previous day. Just in case, I opened my friend list and checked Yumirs name, naturally, it said Offline. Once she has some time, shell probably log in and contact me. If I prepare our equipment now, we can proceed to play smoothly once she logs in. Since I have an hour, I should sell all the unnecessary items and I think I should be able to learn the basics of crafting. First off, since Im a beginner, I headed to the trading BBS that I was interested in that was in the game. As a result, I was able to grasp an understanding of what the current market prices were. Its still the second day so it was still unstable, but it was still enough to give me an idea. The currency used is gold, its usually displayed as G. When I saw normal weeds or pebbles you can find anywhere being sold for 9.999.999G I honestly didnt know what was going on. Who is going to buy that? Gear is expensive as expected, if you dont mind working for it, its naturally cheaper to craft them yourself. Eventually, Ill have to look for another crafter to help mebut I should ignore that for now. I dont really have the money after all, I should craft them myself for the time being. After that, I went around to check on the weapons and defensive gear being sold at the shops, but like the BBS had stated, their performance was lower than that of the ones crafted by players. Sometimes Good quality was attached at the start, other times +1 appeared at the end and even if they were the same weapon, their performance would be better. For example, the Good quality broadsword +3 when compared to a normal one, its performance was extremely above it in comparison. For better or for worse, you could say I was surprised at its price. The ones that were being sold in the villages shops were the ones that usually had nothing attached to the name or the ones for poor players that had Crude attached to the name. Iron lance or Crude iron lance, something like that. You would think that theres no use for these shops in the village, but it doesnt seem to be the case. Their main use is to repair your current gear, thus recovering their endurance. There seem to be whetstones that you can carry, but they are expensive, giving the feeling that their use is for things like long dungeons, making repairing your gear in shops much cheaper. The repair costs are generally on the cheaper side. Take for example the Crude broadsword that is sold for 50G, in the case that you want to repair it, itd only be 5G. By the way, in the case of Miyus weapon that got damaged, its possible to repair it but Thatll be 150G So expensive! With arms the size of his legs, the old man from the weapon shop ruthlessly informed me of the price. Like this, the price can suddenly just go up. Besides, a Broadsword is usually being sold at 150G so you could say that there was no point in repairing it. Theres probably no point in repairing gear from that status until players are able to obtain unique gear. Since there was no point this time, I sold the Broken crude broadsword to the old man for 1G. Muare you telling me to buy this? Dont make that dissatisfied face. So, they wont make a good face when they are being sold trashthey are so sensitive, the AIs in TB. Isnt it fine if you just melt the iron and re-use it? Unfortunately, theres no way for players to dismantle weapons like this into materials, thats why this is the only way to get rid of them. It basically means that its better to get 1G for it rather than just throwing it away. With this, my current gold was 2031G. The following is related to blacksmithing, you can build a workshop after making a guild and building a guild house, but theres also the method of buying your own house and setting a workshop. If you dont have eitherwait, I believe most players arent thinking about that kind of thing yet You can also borrow the workshops in the village, thats information I got from the NPCs in the village. Fundamentally, what you need to craft a weapon is Iron and a Sheath for it design, these two. After that, you apparently need to buy a Blacksmithing set from a second-hand shop. Its an item you cant trade among players, seems like the only way to obtain it is to go and buy it from the shop yourself. When it comes to those ingredients, I already had a good quantity in my inventory, so guess Ill go take a look at the second-hand shop for the time being. I passed through the entrance of a small shop with a potion mark drawn in it that looked like a second-hand shop. Welco-Oh, you are Hello. Yesterday, in front of the gate Oh my, of course, I remember you. Welcome to Claris second-hand shop. Please, take a look around Thanks In a shop that you wouldnt be able to call spacious, Claris-san, the NPC I met yesterday, was looking after customers on the other side of the counter. Inside the shop, there were various customerswait, why are they looking this way? Hey, did Claris-san ever say those lines? No, not to me. Usually, she just says Welcome. Its mysterious how she even recognized him Right? There might be a requisite for itdidnt he say something about the gate? I see, thanks for having a conversation that was easy to understand. It seems like Claris-san, who is an NPC, usually reacts in a different way, so they were looking over here because they found it strange. If I thought about it like that, was I lucky? Though I dont really know if there are any benefits to that. After that, I found the blacksmithing set I was looking for and looked at the price tag but 1-1200G So expensive Each time you use the blacksmiths forge you have to spend 300G and it would make me unable to buy healing items. The price of a beginner healing potion is 50G and a bottle of holy water is 200G. Particularly, not being able to buy many of the revival item called Holy water would hurt. Since I still havent learned any resurrection spells, Im particularly afraid of the death penalty. At the very least, Id like to purchase two of them. My partner is that wild beast after allwith the healing spells I currently have, I wouldnt be able to keep up with her. Is there something wrong? ! Having her hand placed on top of my shoulder so suddenly, I reflexively jumped. Once I turned my head around, Claris-san was looking at me while showing a sweet smile. Ah, wellyou see, my wallet Because I was agitated, I suddenly started to confess honestlyand Claris-san placed one of her index fingers on top of my lips. Even though shes an NPC, my heart is somehow beating really fast because of her coquettish behavior!? Claris-san proceeded to bring her face closer to mine and whispered to me. As thanks for last time, Ill give you a discount but it has to be kept secret from everyone else. How about 40%? 40%!? They were such favorable termsI reflexively nearly agreed to it, but I held back and stood where I was. For some reason, I was feeling a strange uneasiness. When thinking about the unique behavior of the NPCs in this game, was it OK to accept her offer? Since there was nothing to lose here, I should just trust my intuition and simply accept her offer. I would be really grateful, but arent the conditions too favorable for me? I believe its too much as thanks for helping you when you fell down. Somehow, Im scared that theres more to it Oh, you are more distrustful than I thought. Though, as a shopkeeper, I like that morein that case, how about you take a personal request from me later? I wont ask for anything too difficult, Ill even add a reward on top of the discount. What do you think? Oh!? The flow of the conversation has changed! Is thisno, but, its still a bit unclear. Having reached this point, it would be a loss if I didnt hear more about it. If after hearing the contents of that request, I decide to refuse Of course, I dont mind. Even if you decline my request, Ill still provide todays discount. I promise Claris-san was smiling, as if she was enjoying our bargaining talk. Hmmfor some reason, I cant read her character at all and its scary. However, she has promised, so she probably wouldnt do anything bad. Since we are already here, should I try to increase the scope of the discount? Will she let it go through? Or will it be going too far and shell get angry? In that case, Ill take you up on that offer. While we are at it, I would like to purchase: holy water, beginner potions, and this sewing set. If I bought all of it, would the discount still apply? Fufufu, thats fine. You are quite skilled at shopping, huh? In that case, come back tomorrow. Ill be waiting for you Alright! I got my first quest and the item discount was a success! When they said that NPCs would give you quests on their own, they meant this! The old man in the weapon shop also showed his emotions on his face, so it seems like treating the NPCs in this game well is very important. There might be a hidden parameter for likability among NPCs. No good, I got a bit too excitedthe previous two people were looking at me again with suspicion. Lets calm down. I dont really know the contents of the quest, but she left me room to decline if I wanted to and I still got a discount on everything, so there was nothing more to say. Besides, we are still at the beginning of the game, I doubt itll be a harsh request. I had bought the blacksmithing set, the remaining gold I used to buy: 5 beginner potions, 3 holy water and I was even able to buy the sewing set I had taken an interest in for 480G. That left me with 321G. I just barely had enough, but it should be fine. I left the item shop with a happy face and this time, I headed towards the blacksmiths forge to craft the weapons. Chapter 8 First off, I have changed the theme of the blog so that everything is more well organized and cleaner. If you encounter any issues just tell me. Something I might have forgotten to mention about my Patreon is that it doesnt have upfront payments. This means that you wont be charged when you become a patron and payments are only collected at the start of each month. This should clarify things to those that might have been interested in making a pledge but decided not to since other people tend to have this option on and it would have incurred double charges since we a pretty close to the end of the month. I have also edited both pages to clarify this. Now a couple notes regarding the chapter itself. Lets start with the name of a certain character in this chapter. As you can see, her name is a German word, but I believe the author made a slight mistake with the spelling of the word. So, I proceeded to investigate a bit with dictionaries and found the proper one to replace it. It was honestly a small mistake because the meanings were pretty similar but I changed it for consistency. Obviously, Im not knowledgeable about German so if theres someone that does in the comments and finds something wrong with it, feel free to point it out in the comments. Finally, theres the gender of the character that is accompanying her, the author doesnt really use a gender article for this character and only does when hes writing what Hind is thinking. So we can deduce that Hinds first impression of the character is that shes a girl. However, we can see that the character has a male name and is wearing male attire. Until its confirmed in later chapters, Id probably go with the usual feminine male character that looks like a girl. There were some lines without an article where I had to use one for it to make sense in English. After paying 300G to the receptionist NPC in the blacksmiths workshop, I wanted to start crafting right awaybut before that, I should observe the players around me. Its not like I have that many materials after allI dont really want to fail. I was able to obtain a bit of information about crafting from the newly released Walkthrough sites. According to them, they make the best of use of the VR system and depending on where you strike the iron, how much power you put behind each strike and even the temperature of the iron when you strike has a different effect. It perfectly simulates reality and it makes a big difference whenever you are skillful or clumsy. Of course, as a game, it does skip some parts of the procedure, to sum it upit gives an experience that is pretty close to reality. There have been mixed reviews about this part. Its a game, so isnt it fine to just make it a skill and have it automatically make it? Its a VR game so its fine, if you want something like that, just play a non-VR game. Basically, it amounts to these two opinions. TB is the latter, the type that has no assistance for skills. Having said that, what would those that are clumsy do Hii, what is this!? H-hot! Its just a bit, but its hot after all! C-calm down ojou-sama! Whats that!? Ringlets! Arent those blonde ringlets!? Its the first time Ive seen them. Besides, shes even wearing a tight dress and its amazing that shes even accompanied by someone dressed up as a butler Whats this? Some kind of role-play? Its still the second day, but both of them have already decided on their attire. However, the one with the ringlets was holding a bright red mass of iron and getting agitated, she was in a situation where she was endangering her surroundings. Ojou-sama! For the time being, let go- Ah! M-my hair is on fire! Aaah! My HP is decreasing! Do something! Hiii! Water, can anyone bring some water!? Ah, her ringlets caught fire. Being in a burned state, her HP was gradually decreasingso realistic. Even though her hair was burning, it was just visually and its not like her skin was really burning. Since it cant be helped, stealthily so they dont find out, I cast the spell to heal debuffs Recover on the ringlets girl. You recover MP just by walking after allits not like Im wasting anything. Well then, lets just leave that aside for now. First off, I should search for a player I can copy from. O-oh? The fire is gone I wonder whyah, ojou-sama! There are some remains of a spell effect! This is bad! I wanted to start to move away in a hurry, but the ojou-sama had her azure eyes locked on me as if she was calling me over. What should I do These kind of people are fun to to look at, but I dont really want to get involved with them You! Yes? Sure enough, she talked in a harsh tone. If she was a person with a high level of pride, she would usually say something like Dont do something unnecessary! but Y-you have my gratitudeif that had gone on, I would probably have had to waste a healing item Because she had honestly expressed her gratitude, my eyes were going in circles. I shouldnt have judged her by her appearanceIm reflecting on that now. Dont mind it. It was just a coincidence, I would have felt bad if I just watched after all I-I seeno matter the reason, offering gratitude to your benefactor is a practice within my family. Tell me your friend code! This favor, Ill return it a hundredfold! Ehits fine Te?ll?Me!! I take back what I just said. Just as her appearance suggested, she had a forceful personality Without being given much choice, we exchanged friend codes and I registered her as a friend. Her player name was Herrschaftshe had a name that suited her. If I remember correctly, I think it means reign in German. It gives a bit of a sense of chuunibyou, considering her attire too. Since the name is a bit long, can I just call you Herscha? I dont mind, Hind Alright. How about registering that butler over there as a friend while we are at it? Though I wont force her Since we are already at this point, I should do that too, it was that kind of thing. I asked the timid person dressed as a butler. Though, she was playing around with her short bangs and timidly fidgeting Hurry up Walter! Dont be timid, grow a spine! Y-yes! Im sorry ojou-sama! P-please do! After Herscha pestered her, we ended up exchanging friend codes. For some reason Well then, well have to excuse ourselves here. Next time we meet, Ill definitely repay this favor! We are going, Walter! E-eh? Ojou-sama, what about the blacksmithing? Silence! There are things people are not suited for! Y-yes! I apologize, ojou-sama! Ah, wait a moment. From what I see, both of you dont have a job with healing spells, right? ? Y-yes. What about it? In that case, take this as a freebie I pointed at Herscha and cast the healing spell Healing. The HP she had lost while being burned was fully recovered. Unlike MP, HP doesnt recover by walking. There was a notice that they were going to implement hunger, but currently, other than healing jobs, you could only rely on medicinal herbs and potions. Since the game has just launched, people shouldnt be that wealthy, so theres no harm in economizing. Thats why I healed her butHerscha stiffened. Hey! Whats wrong? Its no use, I was waving my hand in front of her eyes but there was no reaction. Did she just short circuit calculating how many times shed have to repay this favor? I even said it was a freebie. Oh well. Ill be going. See you, Walter Y-yes! Thank you, Hind-san! They were quite weird. With that being said, two new names had been added to my friend list. Well then, lets return to checking my surroundings. I obviously havent done any blacksmithing before, beginners are better taught by someone that is more skillful, there was no choice but to steal their methods after looking at them. However, everyone is so focused on their own workeven if I tried talking to them, the chances that they would ignore me are high. Hmmah, that person over there. Striking the iron while being awfully unconcerned and compared to other people, there were no wasted movements at all. I feel a bit bad, but lets get behind her and watch her methods. The workshop is still crowded with players after all. What was before my eyes was a girl with glasses and ruffled hair, besides her, were a large number of already finished weapons. Was it a player that specialized in crafting? There were a lot of weapons that you wouldnt normally see Like that, I observed the blacksmithing flow for a while, after some time, the workshop next to her was freed up so I started to move over there. For the time being, Ive been able to confirm the flow of the process, so lets give it a try. I took the iron from my inventory and I was going to throw it into the furnace that was already hotoh!? Thats! Shotelwait, a Khopesh!? You are making quite the unusual weapon, huhthey appeared a lot in older games, but it feels like its the first time Im seeing one .Hmm? My eyes met with my neighboursoh no! Did I get too excited and say that out loud!? Since she seemed so concentrated on her work, I didnt plan to bother her. Seems like today, Im not paying much attention. I have to concentrate For a short while, she looked like she had stopped her trembling arm from fatigue butas if she had made up her mind, she turned to face me and asked me a question. E-ehdo you know what a Khopesh is? Ehahyes. Its an Egyptian weapon, right? The blade is wider than the Shotel, so the way its curved is different. If I remember correctly, it was shaped to snatch away the weapon or the shield of your opponent Then, then! H-how about this one? Her eyes were glittering full of expectations The next weapon she took out, was a single-edged blade. The reason she showed me at a distance where it was very close to touching me, was probably because I could have the weapon information displayed if I touched it. When I took a glimpse, it said that it was a Cutlass but Hmm, the blade is quite long so its a Szablya, right? ! H-how about this one!? This one is easy. Its a Hunga Munga, right? it can also be called Kpinga. In Japan, they are called African throwing names. Whats this weapon classified as in TB? They are so nice, minor weapons. If Yumir was here, we would be able to talk about them more The Hunga Munga is a knife with a shape close to a d, it can be used as a knife to kill a person, but it can also be thrown like a boomerang to attack your opponent. The previous two could be classified as blades, but what does the system classify an Hunga Munga as? A knife? or maybe a throwing weapon? A A? A kindred soul! The girl with glasses, while being somewhat agitated, grasped my hands tightly. Whoa, what should I do? Even though it was because of my own careless actions, I might have been caught by another weird person Chapter 9 No content Chapter 10 Previous chapter, ToC and next chapter buttons have been added to all releases so it should be easier for you to re-read the series and browse through them. That will be all, enjoy. Hurry up, lets try those skills! I thought you would say thatthough, other than the monsters in this north area, we already beat them in a single hit. I guess we have no choice to try them here Now that you mention it, you are right! In that case, lets go and find some goblins that are not in a big group. A Al-miraj at this level would probably get one-shot after all, even if you wanted to try out Act of desperation Hyahah! A new monster! Listen to me! Yumir rushed at the Al-Miraj. Im glad, its only oneseems like she has at least heard about half of what I said. Its just that, theres no meaning in activating the skill like that! Yumir activated Act of desperation and attacked the monster. Shes only lowering her own defense hereis she trying to self-impose a challenge upon herself? Why you! Failed. Take this! Missed. Why!? Shes not hitting it. Having a higher level, its speed had also increased accordingly, Yumir was unable to follow its movements. Yesterday, in order to gain experience, we gave preference to hunting a big amount of them, she probably thought of them as low-level monsters. While having difficulty dealing with it, lots of them had started to gather Gyoeh! Uwah Yumir was hit by a multitude of horn attacks simultaneously. Having her whole body skewered here and there, her HP vanished instantly. Well, when it comes to the sense of pain, it would only be at the level of being poked by a finger. Even then, the sight in front of me was quiteshocking. How should I say this, I didnt have time to cast any healing or supporting spells Since we hadnt dealt any damage to them this time, I just stood still until the group of Al-Miraj left. Is it fine now? She even died while standingis she Musashibo Benkei? I opened another Holy water and sprinkled it on top of her head. Shes gradually becoming better at dying Hah! Oh, you are back. How did it feel, dying pointlessly? The fluffy ones are scarythey are scaryWa-kun, those fluffy things with horns She turned into a child!? Hey you, you are trying to use that as an excuse to gloss over your failure, right!? Lets go earn enough to cover the expenses of you wasting that Holy water, hurry up! Tsk, he noticed Even going as far as to call me in that nostalgic way However, we only have 1 Holy water remaining, you know? What are we going to do now? Hey, Hind. If we defeated a monster that is isolated fast, it would be efficient, right? Towards the troubled me, Yumir made an unexpected suggestion. Hmm? Lets seeby quickly killing an isolated monster, you mean to use Act of desperation and defeat it before more gather, right? Thats right Since there are a few players here, it would take a while to find thembut well, it doesnt sound like a bad idea. Its true that as long as you manage to hit them they would take around double the damage, even if it was a goblin, it would probably die within 2 hits. As long as you dont get one-shot, you probably wont die after all In that case, want to give it a try? Going back would be a pain, I want to try staying here Hmmits quite the decent suggestion for someone like you Right!? Hmm? Right now, didnt you just make fun of me? It was just your imagination Fields in this game are quite vast after allwhen she said that it would take time to move around, she was right. There was some truth to what Yumir had said. Its better if you dont have to go back. In that case, lets do this. Once we die once and use the remaining bottle, well go back. Until then, well remain here. What do you think? Oh! That means you are depending on me, right!? If its aAl-Miraj I should be able to defeat it in a single strike too. Keep that in mind when fighting Umu, understood! After that, Yumir showed great effort as if to cancel her previous carelessness. Against Goblins she perfectly hit them and retreated repeatedly, she soon got accustomed to the Al-Mirajs speed too. Level 13,14,15when I realized, we were close to level 16 and our weapons were on the verge of breaking, we were able to successively defeat our enemies without anyone dying. After reaching level 15, our stats were high enough to deal with groups of enemies, so we fought them normally. While sorting the item drops in our inventories, we took a breath after finishing healing the damage we had taken. We did itthis is amazing Fufun! See!? The way you are able to concentrate at times like this, does surprise me The truth is, that is a part of Miyu I respected since we were small. Should I call it a latent power? It was like a power that was displayed in a scene of high pressure. I wont say that directly to her though. Because of that, the times she usually fails or is careless are too many to count though However, the endurance of our weapons is at its limits. Lets return to the village and have the old man repair them You are right. Though, where is this place? I was too concentrated in defeating the enemies, I get the feeling we went in quite deep You are right. We should turn back her- *thump thump* Hey, Yumir. Im getting a really unpleasant feeling here Such a coincidence Hind, me too. I would love to say that Im looking forward to it, but that would only be when we were in perfect condition- The sound approached us. The tremors made it obvious that it was a big creature. It was not a sound that the previous monsters would make. Guaaaaaa!!! It came out! Ogre!? Level 20!? Its impossible for us! R-retreat! Retreat!!! The three meter Ogre swung down a lump of iron to attack us. The soft earth of the plains was gouged out and sediment started to vigorously scatter Adadada! M-my HP! Does the flying sediment count as an attack!? Hind! Im faster so Ill act as a decoy! Ah, you idiot, stop! It should have enough endurance for one more strike! Take this! Yumirs Slash cut into the ogres arm. A bit of the enemys HP was shaved, but since she couldnt take the sword out, she was hanging in midair. E-eh? Let go of the sword! I cast Guard up on Yumir in a hurry. The ogre swung the arm that was cut, along with the sword, Yumir was dropped Gah! It swung its club. Naturally, she had no means to dodge in midair. Ginyaa! What are you doing!? Yumir was blown away while still holding onto the sword. Wait, she got one-shot!? With her HP gauge at 0, she started to roll on the ground flashily. My support spell didnt help at allwait, its not the time to think about that! The place Yumir was blown off to, was luckily a good direction to run away from the ogre. I threw the last Holy water and started to run while carrying Yumir, who was slowly standing up. It hurts! Hind, isnt your way of carrying me too sloppy!? Shut up! Its not the time to be carrying you gently! -Hye! Thats scary! It swung the club horizontally to the ground. We kept running like thatonce we reached the central area, the ogre finally let us go. So its area of action is the whole north areaisnt that too wide Im so glad there had not been any players in our path. Seems like the average players are still in the Dondery Forest and Homa plain areas. It was overflowing with killing intent, huhHind Hah, hahgo die over there one time! It showed that kind of evil intentions from the developersit looked like one of those beginner killer monsters Well, I did die one time like the developers intended! Dont put on airs! If you had let go of the blade, you wouldnt have died! Why- How could I throw away the first weapon you have made! I wont let go even if I die! Ehit was because of that? hah, geez. Even though its just game data, this girl Hmm? Right now, what did you murmur at the end? Hind Nothing. Dont mind it ? She sure has a strong sense of dutyif she says that was the reason, theres no way that I can say anything about the matter anymore. That being said, it was a very messy fight comparable to that of launch day. We have run out of items, our weapon endurance is low too, so we decided to return to the village. So, we returned to the plaza in Altrowa Village. It was nearly 12pm if I dont sleep soon the day will change. Yumir seems reluctant, but she asked me if it was about time or not. Is this all for today, Hind? It should be. However, before I forget, I should go and fix the weapo- *beep beep beep* Theres an abnormality occurring with the users body! The VRX3500 will force close in 5 seconds. 5,4, What!? Abnormality!? Y-Yumir!? Theres a warning coming from the VR gear for some reason! Hah? Wataru, dont tell me that you forgot to lock your roo- I didnt lock the door, when I tried to say that. The connection has been terminated. After hearing that message, my consciousness was cut from the world of TB. Chapter 11 While I cant really force anyone to read it, how about checking the series out? Id personally like it if I was able to shift some of the incoming traffic because of VRMMO so that Bu ni Mi gets some attention too. You are free to drop it if its not your cup of tea, but Id like people to give it a chance too. As a small note for this chapter, the way Yumir addresses Riizu with is quite the rude form of you, kind of hard to convey it in English and I didnt really want to use harsher words. Thats about it for today, enjoy. Honestly, I was scared of taking off the VR gear. What if it was like those incidents in the past regarding VR? Maybe a robber has already entered my room and stabbed me, or something like that? Those kind of delusions were spinning around in my head. However, I could feel the warmth coming from the weight on top of my abdomen Rise, what are you doing? In front of me, who had taken off the VR gear, was my little sister wearing a thin pajama. Did she just get out of the bath? There was the pleasant fragrance and warmth of the bath powder. Her face was flushed and her eyes were somewhat moist. Nii-santo not even say goodnight to me, arent you being too cruel? Ahsorry. I completely forgot In our house, we have the habit of usually exchanging some words at 11pm before going to sleep. I think that it would be weird to do it if we didnt see each other though As Miyu had said, I had not locked the door to my bedroom. However, this postureRise had her legs spread out while being on top of my abdomen, she was literally mounted on top of me. Somehow, Im feeling a dangerous presence here. For the time being, please get off me This is a game, right? When did you manage to get such an expensive looking device I told you to get off me! Why are you not listening to me when you are this close to me!? To remove her from me, I forcibly grabbed her from both sides and she let out a Hnn. Dont go making weird voices! And dropped her at one of the sides of the bed. Shes so light, even though shes eating three meals a dayis it because shes short? I raised my upper body and sat down facing Rise. Miyu gave me this gear as a present. Since it had been such a long time since I last played a game, I got too absorbed into it. Sorry I seeMiyu-san didfufu, fufufu Whats with that evil laugh!? Now that I think about it, did you hate games? Its not like I hate them? Its just thatwhile you are playing the game, you wont pay any attention to me Ahit was because of that. Im sorry. From now, Ill try to put less time into- No, in fact, I do think nii-san is overworking himself. If you are playing a game to relaxI dont have any right to stop you Rise She has grown up to be such a good kid, nii-san is so happy. Since dad died, its true that I didnt have much spare time for hobbies These days, since I take less time doing housework, I was able to get some free time. Thanks. However, from now on, Ill make sure to at least properly say goodnight Its fine, you dont have to mind that. By the waywhats the name of the game you are playing, nii-san? Hmm? Its called Trailblazer Then, what system does it run on? The one thats being talked about recently? VRX3500wait, what are you going to do with this information? Nothingwell then, goodnight. Nii-san O-oh. Goodnight Rise left the room. What was that? All the questions she asked now Ah, I should contact Miyu. Well, since Rise was touching me, the VR gear did an emergency shutdown. While you are using VR, its safeguarding your body in a very precise manner, huh. I didnt know about that The next day, it was a bit unusual, but I didnt have many chances to talk to Miyu until night, so I explained it to her again inside TB. It was 10pm,at the same time as yesterday, I logged in after I was done with my part-time job and housework. As expected, I was a bit tight on time during weekdayseven then, I still logged in. Since Ill have plenty of time during weekends, Id want to play in a more relaxed manner. Just as I thought. Next time, lock the door, put some sleeping pills on her dinner and log in after checking that she has fallen asleep! Isnt that a crime!? Why would I need to go that far!? Its a precious time for me! Death to those that dare interfere! You are going too far! You are not making any sense! You are rightthis is why savage people are like this. So scary. Right? Nii-san You are righthmm? Hmm? This is weirdIm hearing a voice I shouldnt be able to hear inside TB After Miyu and I exchanged glances, we turned our faces at the same time towards where the voice was coming from. Rise!? Whayou, why are you here!? Over there was the figure of my little sister wearing the beginner gear of TB. I felt shaken and my head was full of questions. Rise got closer and stood next to me, then proceeded to show a crooked smile towards Yumir. You sure used quite the dirty method, huhusing a game as a bait, you tried to steal my time alone with nii-san The only one that would do such a selfish action is you! I genuinely wante to play with Wata- Y-Yumir. You are the one that said that we should avoid using our real names, right? You just shouted my name while looking at me Nu! whoops- Arent you able to even keep your own word? What a disappointing person Gah!!! People like you! People like you are so!! Because of Yumirs screams, the gazes of the people in the plaza focused on us. S-sorry! Its nothing! Look, lets switch places for now! Calm down Yumir! Let me go Hind! I wont allow her to have her way today! Such a noisy personits bothering you too right? Nii-san You!! Since we had completely grabbed the attention of the other players, we started to switch places while I tried to calm down Yumir. The outskirts of the village, we were finally able to sit down and relax under the watchtower. There were no shops or anything here and the number of NPCs and players was low. There are a lot of things I want to ask her, but first off First off, its not good to use our real names. Your player name isRiizu, huh? Ill call you Riizu over here, OK? Understood, nii-san I looked on top of her head to verify her name. Since the display is small, you cant really see it well unless you focus If the target is too far or is moving at a fast speed, you usually cant see the information. Riizus avatar was like mine, she particularly hadnt changed anything. To sum it up, she looked like the little sister that I was used to seeing. Just in case, dont call me brother while in the game In that case, Hind-san. Even though its an alias, doesnt it excite it when we call each other by our names? I-is that so? While I was a bit perplexed at Riizus words, Yumir was scowling. I guess shes trying to say that I should make the conversation go forwardI got it. So, Riizu. As the one looking after the household finances, this is an unavoidable questionwhere did you get the money to buy the VR gear? From the allowance that nii- Hind-san gives me? Every month, dont you give me enough money so I dont have inconveniences during high school? Hmm!? Wait wait! Thats for you to buy things like clothes and cosmeticsanyway, I told you to use it for things like that, right? Of course, its not like Im telling you not to buy anything luxurious but! Isis my appearance that terrible? Even without all that, Im properly taking care of my appearance though If you say that As a girl that frequently receives confessions from male students, if I said that she was not beautiful, it would be like recognizing that there was something wrong with my sense of beauty. Besides, even if left out the part where I see her in a favorable light as her brotherwait, do I really have to say it? Dont make such a sad-looking face! I get it! I-I think you are more than pretty enough? Without any doubt. You can have confidence in yourself Really? To be praised by nii-san, that makes me the happiest Fuun, you are just a small animal trying to act cute After hearing Yumirs abusive language, Riizu pretended that she had heard nothing. Thats adding more fuel to the fire thoughshe definitely did that on purpose Hmm? Wait? What were we talking about againah! Wait, that wasnt my point! Even if you are naturally pretty, it doesnt mean you dont have to dress up, right!? Buy some clothes! Theres a limit to what I can arrange for you to use from my hand-me-downs! Instead of clothes, I bought time to be able to spend with nii-san though? Is that really something I shouldnt have done? Ah, you sure have a reply for everything! Hah, whateverits your allowance after all, do whatever you want with it Thank you very much, nii-san In the end, isnt it because you spoil her like this that she takes advantage of you? Shut up, Im well aware of it. Besides, its not like she has done anything badshe did buy it with her own allowance after all. However, since it was a large sum of money, I kind of wished she had consulted with me firstthat was my concern as her big brother. Nevertheless, Im quite surprised you were able to buy a VRX3500 today. Isnt there a shortage of stock? I asked Kaede-chan Ahthe daughter of that electric appliance store. Dont make her do anything too unreasonable, you hear? Nuueven though I stood there for such a long time Isnt it fine? Im kind of grateful you know? The atmosphere in TB during the days following the launch is something that you cant really put into words after all If you say so With that being said, so the towns electric appliance store also has them, huheven though the big companies stores are sold-out and they probably have a shortage of goods. Then, the reason that she was late to come back home even though she had no cram school was because of this, huh. Then, lets seehow were you able to find us among all that crowd of people? Even if it was a coincidence, there were just too many players, right? Because theres no way for me to mistake nii-Hind-san for someone else. No matter where you are, or how far you are, Id know. Ill know You are not really answering my question though Ignore her, Hind. You probably wouldnt understandI also dont want you to Riizu was slightly offended by Yumirs exasperated face. However, she calmed down and said another comment. In other words, its love Love!? Whats with that logic!? I get it even less now! Instead of love, what Im feeling right now is pity! Even though you are saying that you wont tell me to go away, right? Yumir-san. I dont hate that part of you I dont have any choice now that you are hereit would be my loss if I didnt fully enjoy the game. Even if I had to play with you Oh, thats nice both of you. Like that, how about you stop quarreling too- Ill think about it if she stops with that cheeky way of speaking Ill think about it if this person becomes more refined. Well, I think its impossible though I see I cant understand how in sync they are at times like this. Like I said previously, since they only quarrel like this, it was decided that we would start playing together from now on. Chapter 12 Id like to address a change in the schedule, as you probably have noticed, lately, the number of releases for VRMMO had been higher than Bu ni Mi. I personally believe this has been handled the wrong way and was partly because I found that I could release the WN chapters more quickly than the LN. This ended up with me trying to release more chapters of the WN and using whatever spare time I had left to work on Bu ni Mi which, as you can imagine, resulted in me releasing Bu ni Mi chapters at a really slow pace. As someone that is unable to pace himself when given free rein, this basically lead to me using the entirety of my free time on translating chapters and kind ofnot doing much else? Not that I disliked it because I do enjoy translating to a certain extent but probably not what someone would expect from something that is being done as a hobby. However, I believe this kind of work ethic is not really sustainable in the long run even if you enjoy it,so after giving it some thought, I decided to self-impose some limits upon myself. This means that I will set a limit to how much I translate during my free time and try to shift time to other activities for myself. Ill also be alternating between each series after each release, which means that after this chapter, there will be a VRMMO chapter, then itll be another Bu ni Mi chapter and so on. I believe this is the simplest way to be fair to the readers of both series. I believe most of the readers will be disappointed by this decision, but well, theres probably not much I can do about it. Ill still try to make progress each day so I doubt there will be a content drought or anything like that, just expect releases to be a bit more spread out. That being said, heres the next VRMMO chapter, enjoy. Alright, today well start by making defensive gear The place we were currently were at was the same, under the watchtower. There, I spread out a large amount of Al-Miraj fur from my inventory. As Ive already stated before, theres no concept of dismantling so what was spread before me was already processed furor rather Leather. As expected, proceeding with the beginner defensive gear would make us weak, so this time I decided to start by crafting some defensive gear. Working on the ground is not really optimal, but since we dont have anywhere else to work theres no other choice. I wonder how much does a home inside the game cost? Here! Hind-sensei! While you are doing that, Ill have nothing to do! Fumu, Yumir-kun. You are free to go somewhere else! Is what Id like to saybut since it wont take long, wait there for a bit. In reality, making defensive gear doesnt really take too long after all Hind-san, is there anything I can do to help? You dont really know much about the game, right? While Im making the defensive gear, ask Yumir if you have anything you want to know. Thats fine, right? Yumir Eh Huhdidnt you just say you had free time? In that case, I have an idea. Theres an armor thats made using blacksmithing by using the carapace of killer bees, should I make those? On top of being pointy in the shoulder area, the color scheme is black and yellow, and Ill gladly do it! Yup. Im counting on you When it comes to the process of making defensive gear, you are fine as long as you set a Pattern and a Blueprint on the sewing set and make them as it instructs you to. These Blueprints appear as long as you have a material needed for it in your inventory, this was a feature that was really game-like. Once you get rare materials, you can check the Blueprint and know what the rest of the materials you need are, it was really convenient. However, this only applies to those in the sewing category. There are Blueprints for those made via blacksmithing too, those appear when you use a Blacksmithing set. Well, the only thing that differentiates them are their categories, the methods remain the same. Its just that since you can make defensive gear with both methods, one should check both categories to not miss anything. Hah? Even though it goes through the morning, noon and evening in four hours, why does the date change at the same time as reality? Besides, night is awfully short too You are so picky! Its like this because its a game! To begin with, if these four hours were referring to the Earth, it would mean that it rotates at quite the speed, you know? If we assume that this is a planet thats like Earth, I dont believe its an environment where humans can- The developers are not thinking about that kind of stuff! Are you an idiot!? What do you mean by idiot!? I dont want to hear that coming from you! When it comes to weapons and defensive gear, players can add their own arrangements to the process, but this time Ill stick to what the blueprint says. Leather is more difficult to process than cloth since I dont have many materials like that time with the weapons, I dont want to take a risk. By the way, I dont need to take into account Yumirs figure, if you follow the blueprint, after you craft them, the game will change it to fit her body. If you make your own arrangements its different since you have to make them so they fit the persons body it takes a lot of timethis is probably something Ill leave for the distant future. First offIll start by marking the leather. If I dont do it well now, itll be problematic latercarefully with a pencilalright, done. Next is to cut itits been a while since I cut leather with a carving knife. Leather crafting was pretty similar to normal sewing, which I hadnt had many chances to do. I believe the last time was when I gave mom a wallet as a present? I think that was last year? YupI cant really remember the exact day it last happened, but I did make a bag one time to save money. In that case, Ill probably gradually remember while I work on it. If I remember correctly, when you are cutting leather, you have to do it with resolution. I put strength in, and cut it in a straight linethere! Oh, it got beautifully cut. The inventory is also weird. To think you can take out a large number of things from this small waist pouchfurthermore, it doesnt weight anything Hey, dont tell me you are going to find faults with every little thing!? We are not going to finish at this rate No, Ill just take it as it isthis sort of approach, is important when you are playing a game I-I see! You are finally going to obediently- Thats what Hind-san said There was no way you would. Though, I already knew that More importantly, Yumir-san. I tried to use this inventory but What is it? Its probably going to be something worthless but Ill hear you out Next is a pretty bothersome process butoh, its aligning itself on the ground without me doing anything. Having part of the process done by itself in the blink of an eyeyeah, this is quite comfortable. Like blacksmithing, theres a judgement system depending on how you do the process. In this case, I guess its cutting, sewing and the finishing touches? The ones that affect the performance of the defensive gear. If you can place an item no matter how big it is in this inventoryI was thinking that we might be able to put a person inside it H-Hey, dont tell me Hey, Yumir-sanwont you try getting inside? Stop it! Theres no way that a player would be able to enter inside the inventory! If its impossible, why are you getting frightened? Are you getting worried because you have never tried it? If by any chance its possiblewhat should I do? S-Stay away! Dont come any closer! Come now, fly that flocks towards Hind-sanlets store you inside the inventory Hiiii!!! Just as I thought. If you join the parts with your hand they bind and it even makes the holes for sewing. In that case, next if finally time to start sewing. By using the drop item called Caterpillar thread, I stuck them through two needles to be used on leather. Since its different from using a needle on cloth, I have to be careful. Alright, preparations are done. Using both needles I started to sew the leather by crossing between each other. stinging stingingas I thought, this might take a while? Im nearly done with a side of the torso butoh! Ooh! The thing I was surprised about was that the thread started to sew by itself on the holes. Seems like once you are done with a side, theres a system that deduces the precision of your work. To begin with, having the needle Im holding suddenly come to live is dangerous! Finally, I put the final touches on the leather defensive gear. I used a rasp to even out the parts that were protruding. When I did so Its glowing! W-whats going on!? Oh my The leather armor started to shine and float mid-air, once it finished, it fell to the ground again. There were parts in it that I clearly didnt make, I slightly felt like I couldnt agree with how it turned out. In terms of color, its the same light brown color from the raw material, and its appearance wasnt too bad. Well then, how about its performance Oh! Hind, is that mine!? Is that my defensive gear!? It is, but let me verify its performance as the crafter first. You are too close! You are breathing too heavily! Tsk, Im out of time, huh The armors information was displayed once I touched it. Defense 41this is the value of the entire armor, so it seems like there are no values set for each part. Its name is First-rate Al-Miraj armor +8. Hmm? First-rate? Ill put in on immediately! A-ah. Once you register the armor as your own, itll change to fit your body I seealright, done! Goodbye beginner gear! Yumir hurriedly opened the menu and equipped the armor. However, I couldnt feel satisfied for some reason. Hind-san, is there something bothering you? No, Ill probably figure out once I investigate it later. Ill make one for Riizu next Really? Thank you very much Among the weapons that Selene-san made, there were no other than Good quality +10. Was the system lenient for defensive gear? Or was I just lucky? I dont know I dont believe I was doing such a good work though. Oh well, Ill contact Selene-san about this by mail later. Since shes smart, she might know something about it. Alright, next is Riizus, I should quickly make mine too. Chapter 13 Since someone had requested it, I have added the name of the speaker in the dialogues for those that cant follow who says what really well. I believe that all the characters so far have defined ways of talking but hope it helps. Feel free to give your opinion about this change. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. Hind With that being said, I have finished making Riizu Making? Hind Our defensive gear Riizu That was fast. Didnt that take you less than five minutes? Compared to Yumirs leather equipment, ours was made of cloth so it was far easier to make. The materials used for it were the common drop from the monsters in this area Cotton cloth and the drop from caterpillars Caterpillars thread. Mine was a Good quality priest clothes +9, and since Riizus job was mage, I made her a Good quality mage clothes +10. As expected, since that one, there were no more First-rate items. Even though I had more confidence in this than in leather craftingit seems like there might be a criteria Im overlooking. Since Yumir looked like she had time to spare, I made her look for other first-rate gear in the trading BBS. Then, procuring a weapon for Riizu. Since the weapon is just for until she catches up in level, I made her buy a normal Wooden rod from the shop. Riizu stayed behind to help me out. Riizu Yumir-san is late. Though itd be fine if she didnt come back Hind Dont say something so cruel without any hesitation. Well, its true that shes late though. Since we are already here, should I make another piece of gear? For you Riizu For me? Hind Itll be a standard tricorne. Since I dont have a blueprint for it, itll be my first time making a personally arranged defensive gear Actually, I had been wanting to give it a try. For the time being, we have finished making our gear so we wont have to worry about materials for a while. Even if I fail here, there wont be any risks put on ourselves. Unlike crafting full-body equipment, I doubt just making a hat will prove to be that difficult. Riizu Nii-sanfirst Hind Thats right? Wait, dont call me nii-san. Even though its fine since theres no one around us RiizuPlease do so. Ill be taking nii-sans first time then Hind I-I see. Though I think the way you worded that was weird? Riizu It must be your imagination. Well then, before that hindranceI mean, Yumir-san comes back Even if you try to correct yourself, it doesnt really change the fact that you already said she was a hindrance. As for the materialsWool felt,Caterpillar thread and Gromwell root fine powder, these three. First off, Ill sprinkle the Gromwell root fine powder onto the Wool felt. If we are talking about the color of a witchs hat, it has to be black. The mage clothes are black after all, I have to make them match. Riizu Just by sprinkling some powder on it, why did the cloth turn into such a fine dark color? Hind Because its a game, thats the only thing I can say. Yumir already told you so, right? If it was the same as real life, it would lose the meaning of being a game right? Riizu Thats also true but Hind Then, how about this? They simplified it so it would be convenient for those players that dont have much time to play Riizu I can accept that reasoning Hind You are for the most part, as argumentative as me, huh In reality, if crafting was the same as real life, Id be unable to make other things they request me to do. That wouldnt be fun, right? To begin with, crafting is just one small part of TB. Besides, the simplified parts feel like you are using magic, and that feels good. Hind Look, let me your head for a moment. With this, Ill sew the tricorne and finish it A tricorne wasnt too difficult to make. The portions that need sewing are not many, once you make the shape, the small details can be done by hand. I cut a thin piece of linen, and sprinkled Crimson flower fine powder to dye it into a red ribbon, then coiled it around the tricorne. More importantly Hind As expected the end wont bend! This is a part I cant give up on! Riizu Is thatso? Yumir As expected of you, Hind! If we are talking about mages, the pointy hats must bend. This is a must! This is the right way to do it! Riizu, to think you wouldnt even know this Riizu Hind Oh, Yumir. Arent you late? Yumir Fumu, the weapon shop was crowded so I got delayed. Is that an original made by you, Hind? I dont think Ive seen any players wearing that After appearing from behind Riizu, Yumir threw the Wooden rod towards Riizu and proceeded to sit in front of me. Being in disarray, Riizus expression turned bitter. Before it turns into another fight, Ill try to advance the conversation in a loud voice. Hind Thats right. Even though it should have been something common at launch, theres not a blueprint for itsince you were late in coming back, I decided to make it. So, how was it on your end? Yumir Oh, you mean the trading BBS? As expected, there was no defensive gear with the first-rate name on them. Besides that, good quality +5~10 items are quite rare. Hind I seewell, once they make more progress on full walkthrough sites, more evidence should come up. Lets leave this mystery aside for now Riizu Hind-san, can I put on this hat already? Hind Oh, wait for a bit. For original equipment, the system will asses its performance once you give them a name, theyll be available for use after that. Lets seetricorneand verification I inputted the name in the menu console and pressed the verification button. Like with the Al-Miraj armor, it was wrapped in light and then fell down. Then I touched the hat and checked its performance. Hind It appeared again, first-rate. Even though I just said we should leave it aside for now. Ah, Im getting confused! Yumir It did!? How precise was your work this time? Hind Well, even though it wasnt really hard, I made it to the best of my own ability. That being said, there was nothing in the process that was skipped Yumir The mystery deepens Riizu You are right. As far as I could see, Hind-sans sewing accuracy was pretty standard. That being said, there must be something that we are overlooking that has an effect on the end result Hind Fuu, lets stop here. Even if we think about it, theres stuff we dont understand. More importantly, lets continue playing the game? I have to go and hear the content of Claris-sans quest today The date is going to change soon after all. I put my completed First-rate tricorne +1 on top of Riizus head. The way its treated is as one of the 2 accessory slots. Its defense was +7, luckily, as a bonus, it also increases magic attack by 5. Since theres nothing I can compare it to, I dont know if this item is good or not. However, since Riizu thanked me in a delighted way, that doesnt matter. Its cute how she looks like a witch after all. A tricorne and a black robeit has to be like this. I closed the sewing set, stood up and started stretching. Ah, even though its inside a VR game, my shoulders are stiffI want to fight. Riizu That being said, Hind-san. Who is this Claris-san you speak of? Hind Ah, Claris-san iswait, why are you swinging your staff like that? Image training? Riizu Please, dont mind me Unexpectedly, even though she shouldnt be that skilled at it, a good sound came from Riizus swings. At this rate, it wouldnt be so weird if she could beat her enemies to death. Though, the fact that she had a strange blank look on her face was quite scary. Yumir Seems like shes the NPC of the second-hand shop. The first woman he hooked in the village Riizu Guilty Hind Dont say things that will have a bad effect on someones reputation! I only helped her when she fell down! Riizu Thats right. Theres no way that Hind-san would have asked a woman out on his ownthat evil woman must have Hind Hey, I dont think she was designed that way? If I had to say, it felt like I was talking with another human Yumir What do you mean, Hind? Are NPCs able to execute such advanced decisions? Hind Well, youll see once you meet her. If it goes the same way as I expect it to I headed to the second-hand shop while question marks appeared on top of their heads. Chapter 14 Unfortunately Im dealing with some real life stuff at the moment that might have affected my mood for translating a bit. This doesnt mean Ill stop translating but it has definitely affected the speed at which I translate more complex things like the LN. Since I didnt want to have no updates for an extended period of time, I decided to change the way Ill handle releases again. I know, Ive been changing things quite a bit lately and releasing less chapters but I believe things were not working in the current state if I kept following what I proposed a while ago. While I can no longer give any estimates because Im not sure Ill be able to keep my own wordIll say at least that Ill try to work on Bu ni Mi albeit at a much slower pace. On the other hand, Ill try to release VRMMO more often so we can get the first arc done within a reasonable time frame so that people can get an idea of how the series is going to develop. I apologize to those that were looking forward to a Bu ni Mi release. Hopefully Ill be able to sort things out and go back to releasing more often eventually. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. WelcomeAh, Ive been waiting for you, Hind-sama (Claris) Hi Claris-san. Im with my friends butis that OK? (Hind) Unfortunately the reward wont go up, but if thats OK with you, theres no problem. Ill ask for someone to replace me now so wait for a bit. Grandma! (Claris) There were no other players inside the store. While calling for someone, Claris-san went inside the door further behind the counter. She said grandma right? Since the person is someone older, will it take long for her to come out? Thats an NPC? The way the conversation went was very different from usualI cant believe it (Yumir) Eh? That person was an NPC? (Riizu) Remember the name that was displayed. The color was different from ours right? (Yumir) AhI see (Riizu) Shh, Yumir. I heard that the word NPC is discriminatory for people like them. If you are not careful, itll affect their mood (Hind) Is that so? (Yumir) After being called an NPC repeatedly by players, it seems like the old man from the weapon shop beat them up, so its probably true. From what I heard from him after the fact, he said that I dont really get it, it was a name that got on my nerves. Theres even a rumor that says that if you overdo it, you wont be able to use the shops anymoreanyway, its not something we cant avoid. Since we are the Visitors, Should we just simply call them Natives? I believe it must be some sort of message from the developers. At the very least, while we are playing, they probably want us to deal with them as if they were real people (Hind) I seegot it. If we think about VR, its true that this should be the correct way to enjoy it. In fact, I dont dislike this way of doing things (Yumir) With that they make a new world, huh? Games are deeper than I thought (Riizu) Fufun, Of course they are (Yumir) I dont really get why Yumir-san is boasting about it (Riizu) At that moment, an old woman with her back slightly bent appeared from the door. Right after, Claris-san appeared as if she was supporting her. The old woman slowly walked towards us and was staring at my face. I-is something wrong? FuunI see, he doesnt seem that bad. Are you going to have him do it? Claris (old woman) He still hasnt taken up the request butyup, it might end up like that. Grandma, Ill leave the rest to you. Everyone, please come inside. Ill tell you in detail about the contents of the request(Claris) Yes Fumu Staring at Hind-san like thatshes quite the impolite grandmother We were allowed inside the shop to a place that was probably not allowed to other players. It was a normal room with a table and chairs, Claris-san sat down and spread what looked like a contract. The details of the contract are written here. Please read it and tell me if you have any questions (Claris) Yes, I understand. Lets see (Hind) Request: escorting a peddler Contents: Accompany a certain person that aspires to be a peddler and escort him/her to Heathrow? town. Reward: Skill point book. Number of people: 1 or higher. Its not possible to take up this request more than once. Oh, the contents of the contracts in this game are summed up in a concise way. While being perplexed I showed the contract to Yumir and Riizu and turned towards Claris-san. I-It was quite the simple and easy to understand contract, huh? (Hind) That was a normal contract in this worldwas there anything wrong with it? (Claris) N-No. Anyway, who is this certain person that this contract is referring to? (Hind) R-Regarding that (Claris) Claris-san started to get fidgety. Seeing the gap between her adult-like appearance and her actions, my heart started to beat fast. N-no good, my cheeks are starting to loosenhah!? Arent you making quite the dirty facehuh? Hind (Yumir) So indecentyou cant be making that kind of face towards people other than me, you know? (Riizu) S-sorrycertainly, it was a face that might have given a woman a sense of discomfort. However, since its giving me chills, could you stop looking at me like that? With both of you, it feels like Im going to freeze (Hind) Fun. So? Who are we going to escort? (Yumir) I-itsme (Claris) Because of Claris-sans unexpected words, Yumir and I stood there in shock. After asking for some time to discuss the quest among ourselveswe gathered in a corner of the room. Claris-san looked at us with anxiety, but it was not time for that. Whats the meaning of this, Hind!? A native is going to move to another place of her own will!? Furthermore, its the person that has the important role to work in the second-hand shop! (Yumir) I dont get it either. However, now I know why she was evaluating me. Having someone escort you means that you are placing your life in their hands after allyou have to be careful about that. Thats probably why she offered me such a discount and observed how I reacted to it (Hind) To begin with, I havent seen any sort of NPCs that could take an escorting job in this village Is it that kind of setting? Was it done on purpose? To sum it up, the appearance of Visitors was like a godsend for Claris-san. Theres also the fact that her grandma can act as a replacement, in a certain way, you could say thatthis has gone accordingly to the developers plan? Is that so? Its true that I wouldnt feel safe leaving the job to someone straightforward like Yumir-san and Id prefer someone that says What did you just say!? and proceeds to doubt my words. In that sense, I might be the same type of person as her (Riizu) So, what are we going to do? Hind. If I remember correctly, Heathrow? town is further up north from the Homa plains? That means that well probably have to get past that ogre. Regarding our chances of victory (Yumir) We can win. Itll be fine in that regard. So, what do you want to do about this request Yumir? (Hind) Of course we are going to take it! That way itll be more fun after all! (Yumir) Got it. In that case, shall we go? (Hind) We decided to take up Claris-sans request. The smile Claris-san made after hearing our reply was like a flower in full bloom. Immediately she took her big luggage out from somewhere and informed us that she was done preparing. The words above her head Second-hand shop Claris disappeared and instead Peddler Claris appearedI was really surprised. After all, even the clothes she was wearing immediately changed. From the clothes of a villager to those of a traveler. So they are not really careful in this regardI dont really get the standards of these developers. Afterward, we were told to wait for a bit in front of the store, so we stood in front of the entrance. The players inside the store were surprised at Claris-sans changethough it was understandable. Regarding that Claris-san, she was currently hugging her grandma, who was going to tend the store in her stead. Is she saying goodbye? Uu, Im weak against this kind of scenes (Yumir) Huh? Yumir-san, are you by any chancecrying a bit? Didnt you just meet both of them a while ago? I dont think its a reason for being that moved (Riizu) To tell you the truth, Claris parents diedand today is the day that the female helper she has raised is going on a journey. If we got into that grandmas shoesshe probably doesnt wish for her precious granddaughter to go, but she wants to grant her her wish. Shes currently having those complicated feelings (Yumir) S-So it was like that? I might have not known, but I said quite the rude- (Riizu) Thats the delusion Im having (Yumir) Is what I thought about saying, but seems like I was wrong. Please, go and die (Riizu) Huh? Even without you saying that, once we get into battle Ill die! Without any doubt! (Yumir) Riizu stood there dumbfounded when Yumir gave such a terrible statement. Even if you say it as if it was natural After Claris-san informed us that we should get going, we headed towards the Homa plains. Chapter 15 Dont worry this is not an Aprils Fool release. Nothing to say this time, enjoy. How do you recover MP? Lets see (Hind) She wanted to hear what were the conditions to recover MP. Riizu asked me that as we were coming out of Dondery Forest. Explaining to Claris-san that Riizu was something akin to a disciple to me, we received permission to engage in several fights in the forest. She probably got these questions from that. Riizu learned really fast, she immediately got the hang of it and beat the monsters in the forest. Even though we had so much trouble back thenI want to think that its because of the difference in gear. First off, there are items. These are the basic things you use to recover MP in and outside of battle. Other than that, when you are outside battles, you can recover it by walking or running in proportion to the distance ran. Since it could be advantageous or disadvantageous depending on the distance ran and the physique of the person, I believe it depends on the number of steps you take (Hind) You recover it even when you are getting tired, isnt that strange? (Riizu) Isnt it fine? There are times where just standing still is bad for humans bodies Regularly exercising is healthy right? MP is probably something like that (Hind) Kukuku, that was a perfect way to explain it. What a sad sight! (Yumir) Oh, she was feeling quite bitter about before. When Yumir was explaining the game mechanics, she remarkably fumbled her own words Because of that, Riizu simply raised her eyebrows and proceeded to make a blank face. Ah, shes probably going to lose it with this. Its because Hind-sans explanations are easy to understand. Unlike a certain persons. Unlike a certain persons. (Riizu) Why did you say that twice!? (Yumir) Both of them took out their weapons and glared at each other. Please, stop itthe one thatll have to heal you afterward is going to be me Having watched over the course of events, Claris-san stood next to me and said in a carefree manner. You all get along so well. Im envious (Claris) This isgetting along well? Well, you could probably think that from your point of view (Hind) Isnt it lovely that they have no need to hold back when talking? I believe that is not something easy to attain even if you want to (Claris) Yeah, its a relationship thats hard to come by. Thats true (Hind) I replied while scratching my head bashfully. Claris-san is so calm and composed. I wish I had an older sister like he-no, lets stop there. I get the feeling Ill be looked at coldly again. Is it OK if I keep explaining things? If you dont stop, the date is going to change you know? (Hind) Please do, Hind-san (Riizu) Tsk, please continue (Yumir) So, next is regarding recovering mp during battles. During battles, your MP wont recover by walking, instead, you get a bit of regeneration naturally. Additionally, when it comes to vanguardsYumir (Hind) Nu. When you deal damage or receive damage it accumulates (Yumir) So, magic classes have a different way to recover MPoh, just perfect. Lets test it on that goblin. Since we found an enemy, lets hit it once to enter a battle state. There we go (Hind) Since we had entered the southern area of the Homa plains, I proceeded to hit a low level goblin with my staff. I dodged the goblins attack and cast Guard up and Attack up on myself, consuming MP. Like this, after making a certain posein the case of the shinto priest, its by extending your staff to the heavens with one hand. If you stand still like this (Hind) Under my feet, a magic square appeared and emitted light. Because of that, my MP gauge was recharging faster than usual. Your MP will recover. Since you need to stand still, you have to be mindful of when you use it. You have to decide if you want to recover by using healing items or recover naturallythere! (Hind) I hit the level 6 goblin and finalized the battle. Seeing my performance, Claris-san started clapping. Shes quite good at flattering people. Actually, it feels quite good. I seeso for magic classes, keeping your distance is important, huh? (Riizu) In parties, I believe you can freely recover your MP while the vanguard keeps the enemys attention though (Hind) In other words, its fine to use Yumir-san as a decoy (Riizu) Hey (Yumir) Even though thats a bad way to put it, thats right (Hind) Kuh, I cant agree with thateven though its the truth (Yumir) It cant be helped. We are a party with 1 vanguard and 2 rearguards. The thing is, itd be quite balanced if we had someone to act as a shield. That way Yumir can change to dpsing (Hind) It cant be helped if theres no one for that rolewhatever, Ill strike that ogre with this frustration (Yumir) Your way of speaking is changing, Yumir (Hind) Do your best, main shield-san (Riizu) Keep quiet both of you! Jeez, lets keep going! (Yumir) Following Yumir, who was walking angrily, we headed to the north side of the Homa plains. Gaaaaaa! Hii! (Claris) After entering the north area, Claris-san drew her body back after hearing the roar of the Ogre. After requesting her to stay behind me, the three of us faced the ogre. Hyahah! Its the revenge match! (Yumir) Wowshes fearless even when facing such a big enemy (Claris) Shes stupid and thickheaded after all. Riizu, cover her with suitable magic. Since hes still too high level for you, if it looks like the ogre is going to aim for you, run away (Hind) Understood, Hind-san (Riizu) Yumir slashed at the ogre. There are the effects of our new gear, but I hope that they are enough to fight it Uwaraba! (Yumir) *1 (Fist of the north star Amibas death scream reference) H-Hind-sama! Yumir-san is! (Claris) With the defensive gear, it takes 3 hits, huh?with support magic she should be able to take around 4 hits? Its enough for my cooldowns (Hind) Y-You are quite calmis it going to be fine? (Claris) Its fine. Its going exactly as planned. First off, Ill use holy water on Yumir (Hind) When the bottle hit the mark, Yumir stood up. After that, I cast Healing on her and her HP was nearly full. T-That was nothing! I can keep going! (Yumir) Survive for 30 seconds. Ill use support magic on you and if it gets dangerous Ill throw some beginner potions at you. Well then, Ill charge up my MP (Hind) (Claris) Yumir slashed at the ogre countless times, sometimes, Riizu cast Fireball on it. Yumir got hit once, twiceit should be about time. Next, well rely on Yumirs concentration and when it looks like shes going to get hitIll begin chanting resurrection magic (Hind) U-Usually, isnt that impossible? The magic will just miss! (Claris) Chinya! (Yumir) Eh!? (Claris) The moment I finished the long chant, Yumir was blown away by the club. Arent we dealing damage at a good pace? We can do this! After reaching level 15, I finally attained the resurrection magic called Revive and used that now on Yumir. No matter how many times it takes! (Yumir) S-Such perfect timing!? (Claris) Yumir, go around it and slash at its back! Since his swings are wide it should be unprotected! Riizu, its weak point is its head! Aim at it and strike it with magic! (Hind) OK! (Yumir) Yes! (Riizu) Incrediblehes so precise (Claris) I already know its pattern. Apart from the rare cases where Yumir was hit by the wide swings, the ogres HP was shaved off and off and offisnt it extremely durable for the beginning of the game!? Guoooooooooo! You are finished! (Yumir) Yumir made a big jump and her Slash in a state with both Act of desperation and Attack up made contact with the ogres cranium, and its big frame finally feel on its knees. Cracks appeared on its body and while emitting light, it burst in a grandiose manner. This is not the type of show that should be used on the area boss of a beginner area After seeing that, Yumir started to walk towards us and held up her sword in a delighted way. We won! (Yumir) Yeah, we won (Riizu) We did it (Claris) Arent you acting too indifferent about this!? (Hind) Im happy, but Im not that type of personoh well, isnt it fine? As I thought, once you get resurrection magic, battles become safer. Though, Yumir does die often. Hind-sama, Im deeply moved! (Claris) C-Claris-san (Hind) Suddenly, Claris-san grasped my hand with both of her hands. They are so soft, this is healing me Hind-sama, how about working at a castle somewhere!? If its you, I believe youd be a splendid commander! (Claris) Castle? (Hind) Are there multiple big towns with castles in TB? Sensing a new development, Yumirs eyes were glittering. Chapter 16 As you could expect from how long it took me to get this out, I havent really made any progress in Bu ni mi. As for the chapter itself, as you can guess from the title, there will be one of those forum interactions that appear in some series. Im quite honestly not used to talking in this way so translating it was a bit awkward but I think I got the point across. As for the part thats marked with a (*1). Its basically the person asking if the previous person was referencing the Japanese version of theFBI meme that goes around. Think thats all, enjoy the chapter, Ill try to release the next one faster. TB Thread to talk about the NPCs Mysterious AI This is a thread to talk about the mysterious NPCs in TrailBlazer that are equipped with super efficient AI. Lets talk about the NPCs we are a fan of, interesting characters and peculiar actions. The next thread will be made once we have more than 950 comments. 267Nameless heavy warriorIDVmUs2Ae I was banned from entering the weapon shop, but once I apologized, the old man forgave meso compassionate. 268Nameless archerIDANE4Yzd What did you do? lol 269Nameless heavy warriorIDVmUs2Ae I think I talked about this in the previous thread. He told me that the way I was using my weapon was sloppy and when I told him that he was acting too high and mighty, he sent me flying around 5 meters. 270Nameless mageID59Xg3t2 lol so lame, rather, lmao that old man is so strong. 271Nameless heavy warriorIDVmUs2Ae I didnt know that it was something I shouldnt say to the NPC and by the time I knew, it was too late 272Nameless mageIDS2jTxA5 Even if they are NPCs, you shouldnt say rude things. 273Nameless heavy warriorIDVmUs2Ae I know, but something happened in real life and I was pissed at the time. Forgive me, old man from the weapon shop. 274Nameless light warriorIDdsUdfnJ Why is everyone calling him the old man from the weapon shop!? He has a name and it is Devin! 275Nameless knightID5FUZbn4 I wont remember the name of some old man lol 276Nameless archerIDANE4Yzd What does Devin even mean? Is it English? 277Nameless light warriorIDdsUdfnJ It comes from an English poet! With that kind of face, at night he writes poems in his notebook 278Nameless archerIDANE4Yzd LMAO stop that. You are going to make me imagine it lol 279Nameless knightID5FUZbn4 LMAO Oh? Wacchi, what are you doing while not eating your bento? Where is Miyucchi?(Shuuhei) My classmate, Tsukane Shuuhei, talked to me while I was sitting down on a bench in the courtyard playing with my phone. He probably came back after buying what he wanted since he was holding some bread on one hand. Seems like the stuff she had to do with the student council is taking a while, so shes waiting. Besides, dont call me Wacchi. Im not an artisan, a harlot or a citizen from Gifu. Dont use that kind of pronoun (Wataru) More importantly, give me a side dish to accompany this (Shuuhei) Ah? Where is your bento, Shuuhei? (Wataru) Now that I think about it, this guy usually brings a bento. He usually has a bento unless his mom is busy. I stayed up playing a game all night and my mom got mad. She threw a 100 yen coin at me and told me to go to school! (Shuuhei) And thats why you slept through the lessons, huh? You are so stupid. Here, is some fried chicken enough? (Wataru) Thanks! Ah, this is a hundred times tastier than what my mom makes (Shuuhei) Be more grateful to your mom. You are going to receive divine punishment (Wataru) Looking at the date of the posts, theres more After giving a side glance at Shuuhei who sat down next to me, I kept scrolling through the thread. 503Nameless martial artistIDZy7YRd9 It has to be Claris-san. Orthodox pretty big sister types are the best! 504Nameless archerIDWS64sHL Claris-san is so kind. A while back, she gave me a 40% discount on holy water. 505Nameless shinto priestIDfmGTyMw Ah, if you buy something a lot of times, it seems that shell make 1 item cheaper for you. 506Nameless martial artistIDZy7YRd9 Seriously!? 507Nameless mageIDSsBfxwH Seems like theres some sort of likability, though its not known what is required to raise it. 508Nameless shinto priestIDfmGTyMw Ah, about that, there was an idiot that tried to spend all his money in the second hand shop but her attitude didnt change much. Theres a limit to the number of items you can buy from it. 509Nameless archerIDWS64sHL I heard about someone who got a blacksmithing set from the old man from the weapon shop. 510Nameless martial artistIDZy7YRd9 Eh I dont really get it butClaris-san is the best! 511Nameless archerIDWS64sHL LMAO How much do you like Claris-san? lol 512Nameless knightIDmM4TWdF No no, I rather bring home the mayors daughter, Monica-chan. 513Nameless martial artistIDZy7YRd9 What are you, a lolicon? 514Nameless shinto priestIDfmGTyMw Police officer, over here! 515Nameless knightIDmM4TWdF Molester? *1 516Nameless light warriorIDXraUJMM This was just a template for the thread Hey, Wacchi. What have you been looking at? (Shuuhei) TBs BBS (Wataru) Hah? Wacchi, didnt you say you wouldnt play games? (Shuehei) Yeah, I can guess that the game you spent all night playing was also (Wataru) Theres no need to hide it, it was TB! Are you surprised!? (Shuuhei) Fuun (Wataru) Claris-san sure is being liked. The old man from the weapon shop is too, judging from the replies, theres plenty of other NPCs that people took a liking to. If they found out that we were the ones that took her outside, wouldnt that be bad? Weak! Your reaction is too weak! Hey, lets play together. As expected, playing with in real life friends is more fun (Shuuhei) Sure, I dont mind (Wataru) Really!? (Shuuhei) If you manage to find me inside the game (Wataru) Thats impossible! Wacchi, how many players do you think are inside TB!? (Shuuhei) I heard that there are 500k players during peak times. Isnt that amazing? (Wataru) Right!? Not that! Im saying that its unreasonable to make someone find you among that crowd with no hints! (Shuuhei) Eh (Wataru) Eh You say (Shuuhei) It would be nice if Shuuhei was a vanguard. More importantly, since Im getting close to the latest replies, I should take a look at the BBS. 614Nameless martial artistIDHf8nwSs Claris-san has disappeared!!!!!!!!! 615Nameless archerIDmkehLih !? 616Nameless knightIDed3E9Z3 What are you talking about? 617Nameless heavy warriorIDxDeWrLa Explain the situation properly 618:Nameless martial artistIDHf8nwSs It happened this morning before I went to work When I woke up early, I went to the second hand shop as usual to see her beautiful self to get enough energy to survive the day, at that time 619Nameless archerIDmkehLih Gulp 620Nameless martial artistIDHf8nwSs Claris-san was not there An old woman that I had never seen before was sitting at the counter hbwaipfbasdhifgbapihtgbahnkjdgbangubap 621Nameless heavy warriorIDxDeWrLa LMAO 622Nameless archerIDmkehLih No, this no laughing matter. Is that even possible in this game? 623Nameless martial artistIDHf8nwSs Haa, haa. I heard from that old woman that Claris-san has gone on a journey 624Nameless archerIDmkehLih Oh 625Nameless knightIDed3E9Z3p Eh, what does that even mean? Does that mean shes gone from the game? 626Nameless mageIDHUtpBtE Eeh. 627Nameless martial artistIDHf8nwSs That has to be a lieeeee!!!! 628Nameless mageID9riXKmx Ah, this topic was already brought up, a gamer friend said that he saw her in Heathrow town. 629Nameless knightIDed3E9Z3 Ah? 630Nameless martial artistIDHf8nwSs Eh? 631Nameless archerIDmkehLih Fu? What does that mean? 632Nameless mageID9riXKmx Her displayed name showed her as a peddler and she was selling stuff normally. Basically, Claris changed from second hand shop vendor to peddler. 633Martial artistIDHf8nwSs What!? Now that I know, I must pursue her! Thanks for the info! I have to leave the company early and get to leveling up! Im still level 10 634Nameless knightIDrj8GCRz No, you should work properly like a normal adult lol. 635Nameless archerIDmkehLih Besides, its going to be hard. The ogre over there, is recommended for parties around level 20 after all. 636Nameless heavy warriorIDWUmdMAm Its easy to level up at the start in TB so it should be fine. Even if you go solo, if you get to level 25 and stock on healing items, you should be able to beat it. 637Nameless archerIDmkehLih You sound like you already beat it. So you are a solo player 638Nameless heavy warriorIDWUmdMAm (䣺أ)֥ Ah, seems like they dont know about us, Im glad (Wataru) Wacchi, are there rumors going around in the BBS already? (Shuuhei) Yup, wellmore importantly, you said to give you a hint? Even though Rise found me without a single hint (Wataru) When Shuuhei heard that, he made a wry smile. He shrugged his shoulders while taking a bite at the bread roll. Even if you compare me to herWacchi, doesnt she have like a high sensitive radar for finding you? Wait, are you playing with Rise-chan? Thats unexpected. (Shuuhei) Thats the case. However, a hint, huhfor the time being, well be staying in Heathrow town (Wataru) Ooh, you are progressing quite fast. In that case, tell me your job and equipment. Ill try finding you with that info (Shuuhei) Ah, are you really going to try and find me? It was just a joke (Wataru) Shuuhei showed me his teeth while he was grinning. Hes making a face as if he was saying that it would be more fun that wayits the mindset of a gamer like that of Miyus. If I cant do it, tell me your player name later. Ill send you a mail inside the game (Shuuhei) Sure, got it. Since Miyu and Rise stand out more than me, Ill tell you how they look (Wataru) Since Rise-chan is there, Miyucchi had to be there too right?Yup yup, Everyones job is what I pictured them to be (Shuuhei) Right, whats your job in TB? (Wataru) Please be a vanguard, please be a vanguardwhile I was making such prayers, Shuhei said HmmIts a secret (Shuuhei) So annoying. I hope you dive head first into a puddle (Wataru) Did you have to go that far!? (Shuuhei) He avoided my question. Chapter 17 Enjoy. Wednesday, at 10 pm. It wasnt like there werent that many players that had reached Heathrow town and it was desertedbut there were comparatively fewer people and it was more peaceful. Yesterday we parted ways with Claris-san, who thanked us repeatedly, and we came to this pub today to decide our next course of action. Though, since they havent implemented the hunger system yet, its not like we can eat anything. We thought it would be best to find a place where we could sit down and talk freely so we chose this place. Should we make a guild after all? As expected, not having a place where we can sit down and relax within the game is kind of inconvenient. Especially when it comes down to crafting (Hind) However, dont guild homes only get to be set up at 1 point? I think we should go around some more places before deciding about it (Yumir) True, visiting other places shouldnt prove to be too difficult. After all, this town has paths in all for directionsdoes this mean they are telling us to choose our own path from now on? (Riizu) No matter what path we take it doesnt seem like the level of the monsters increase to extreme levels. If we are in doubt, it would be safe to just set it up here since it looks like a halfway point (Hind) But that would be (Yumir) Boring, right? I know I know. Lets postpone the guild and the guild home for now (Hind) In that case, should we wander around to find a good spot? That would be fun in its own way, but not having an objective would make it really unproductive. I dont really care what it is, I wish we had something to start with. We were absorbed in exchanging ideas and shortly after we decided to take a breakYumir abruptly stood up from her seat. Did something happen? ! Hind, theres something flowing below us! (Yumir) Ah? What are you even sa-whoa, its true (Hind) Is thissome sort of notification from the company? They are captions (Riizu) Once we concentrated on the letters they suddenly started to float in front of our eyes in a grand way. Lets seewe now will proceed to announce the first event. To all the players that are currently logged in, if you look at the sky, you will be able to see something unique. The sky? For the time being, shall we go outside? (Hind) Oh, an event!? Im getting so excited! (Yumir) What are you, a child? (Riizu) What did you say!? Then, dont participate in the event! (Yumir) Such a child. I didnt even have to verify it (Riizu) While listening to their usual back and forth, I opened the door to the pub and went outside. There were already plenty of players standing outside while looking at the sky. Ah, just when I thought there werent that many people. Were they all inside buildings? Though theres still way fewer people than in Altrowa village. We did as the message said and looked at the sky, therethere was a black-haired little girl sporting twin tails with her arms crossed. She was wearing black garments with high exposure. Whats this? Some sort of mascot character from the GMs? I amthe maou (Maou) Noeven if you say that She did have long canines, horns on her head, a long black tail and even red eyes and wingsbut for some reason, she didnt have much impact. The people around us were saying things like Cute or Maou-chan and there was not a single person that was scared. Since I was a bit interested in the illusion projected in the sky, I tried to move around but they were using some sort of technique to make you see the front side from any angle. Thats why I believe its a waste of time to try desperately to take a look below. The female players around would immediately kick you after all. Visitors. My army has grown tired of fighting the small fry in this world. I thank you deeply for your appearance! (Maou) Oh, so its that kind of setting. That being said, is this little girl really the maou? Is this game OK? Oh! Hind, its the maou, the maou! This is getting interesting! (Yumir) Unfortunately, I cant bring myself to think of her as the maou. At least they should show us her casting some big spell or something (Hind) Eh, Hind-san. I only know about the maous that appear in books (Riizu) Uh, right. I know what you want to say. Its true that they are usually malesbut for some reason, the current state is that because of a certain culture, they are getting gender bent (Hind) I think I sort of get itbut at the same time I dont (Riizu) I think people generally think like Riizu. However, Yumir and I have gotten used to this culture after all If Riizu wasnt here, the chances of me saying The maou is a girl!? Thats normal! would have been pretty high. The maou continued talking. Lets start with a preliminary test, I set free a large number of turtles in the Homa plains. Of course, youll be able to overcome this easily, right? Dont disappoint me, visitors from another world (Maou) Turtleshuh? Are they really a good choice for the first event? They are probably very slow but have high HP. Ill be watching the situation from my castle. Regarding this conflict, theres a certain specimen called elder, the one that manages to deal him the strongest blow, Ill take a likyu! (Maou) Ah, the maou magnificently bit her own tongue in the middle of her speech. She crouched showing how much it hurt. Seeing that, warm (?) cheers from the players saying You can do it maou-chan! started to spread. However, with teary eyes, the maou started to shake and wave her arms. Uh.uh! I cant! I cant do this anymore! Samael! Samael! (Maou) You cant, maou-sama! Just a little more, you can do it! (Samael) Dont wanna! Because these guys, they are not afraid at all! Samael, you do the rest! (Maou) Guess I have no choice (Samael) The illusion was interrupted for a moment and we could hear the maou speaking with someone else. After they were done talking, this time, a handsome man with crimson hair appeared in the sky. He had horns and wings like the maou and for some reason, he was keeping his eyes shut. Rather, whats with this charade? Ill be acting in place of maou-sama, my name is Samael. Hear my words, visitors from another world! Ill continue the previous speech. Maou-sama will agree that the person that manages to deal the strongest blow to the Elder turtle is a worthy opponent. Be thankful, you trash! (Samael) The attitude of this man, if I had to say it in a few words, was that of someone that acted too high and mighty. He looks more like a maouor rather, I believe in game settings, Samael is supposed to be a maou? However, his speech was met with animosity from the players Dont screw with us! Show us maou-chan!! We didnt ask for a guy! Go away! Against the projection in the sky, players started to throw stones at it, cast offensive magic and even shoot arrows with killing intent. Obviously, since it was an illusion, nothing really hit the markbut for some reason, Samael was quite flustered. S-stop! Even if it cant really hurt me, itll wound my heart! (Samael) Hey, Hind. Is it fine if I throw a stone at him too? Is it fine? (Yumir) I feel bad for him so dont do it (Hind) That being said, maou-chan was really cute, right? Right, Hind-san? (Riizu) O-oh. Do you want me to deny that? Or do you want me to agree with you? EhR-Riizu is cuter? (Hind) Thank you very much. That makes me happy (Riizu) Ah, so you are fine with that. I see (Hind) Though, that man is just too pitiful. It might have been because more players were arriving, but the attacks kept going. Altrowa village must be especially badthe scenery we see over here is already like a dance. Mixed with the stones and offensive magic, I stealthily threw some Healing towards the sky. There was no real meaning behind it, but I felt a bit weird when it was followed suit by some girls Cheer up, Samael. Who was it? The one that cast some healing magic right now! (Samael) He saw that!? Thats amazing! Thankthank you. As a special gift, Ill reward you with 3 beginner potions (Samael) With dyed cheeks, Samael went dere. Since I dont swing that way, when a man shows me that type of behavior, I honestly feel quite grossed out. Furthermore, hes giving me potions to thank me. I dont want them. Besides, I didnt do it because I wanted to be given a reward. A-anyway! The shell of the turtle is an ingredient suitable for defensive gear and weapons. If you have any will to challenge us, go use that and arrive at the castle already! That will be all! (Samael) The projection quietly dissolved in the sky. With the act having ended, the players started to talk about how they should go about doing the event and started to scatter in their own groups. Since the explanation was over, we decided to return to the pub. Chapter 18 SoIve been dealing with some stuff and also been sick and that put a stop to my translations for a while. While Im still a bit sick, the good news is that I got some time now and translations should be out more often again. Hopefully I can release the next one within a couple days. Enjoy. Roughly speaking, its a gear improving event (Hind) Is it OK for us to think about it like that? (Riizu) Said Riizu, who was sitting down on a chair while fixing her bent tricorne. The contents of our conversation were obviously about the event that was announced a while ago. The details were shown on a window and Yumir was enthusiastically looking at them. I talked with Riizu while looking at them too. If it was announced by the developers themselves, it would have been something likegather limited materials during this time frame and craft limited-time gear! (Hind) So they made that act to give players that kind of feeling? (Riizu) Probably. The players liked it and their reaction was good. We were quite lucky to have seen it first-hand (Hind) They should still be able to watch it later on video right? (Riizu) Most likely. However, since there are probably many people that want to see it first-hand, they might have to do work on doing things like this moving forward (Hind) Ehso they have to consider many things (Riizu) Its probably possible considering how popular Maou-chan was. Personally, I think her character is aimed at a certain type of people though. Even then, being excited about this is a part of being a man Though I dont know if females will like her. Well then, lets verify the details of the eventafter beating turtle type monsters, theyll drop shells as ingredients. Using those as ingredients to craft weapons and gear will guarantee them having higher quality than Fine quality. So even if you are not that good at blacksmithing, you should be able to get decent gear (Hind) They showed a sample, the appearance of the defensive gear is a bit (Riizu) While saying that, Riizu moved from the chair and approached me. Why is she looking at mine? She could just look at them on her own menu screenoh well, whatever. The defensive gear did give the impression of them being the shell of a turtle, just as Riizu had said You are right, the appearance is quite lacking. However, its also true that its endurance is higher than other defensive gear, I feel like itll be convenient to have at this point of the game (Hind) Repairs are not free after all (Riizu) I want to devote all my time to hunting! In that type of situation, theyll be the best to have. Getting money to repair them will be easy too so you could say that they were attractive gear for people. In that regard, for people that dont need them to have high performance, theres merit in obtaining them. They have set it up quite well. In that case, if you dont like the appearance of the armorhow about just making the weapons? The weapons look quite good. Other than thatyou can also make accessories. Making accessories from tortoise shells sounds quite interesting (Hind) Ah, that sounds lovely (Riizu) Yumir what do you thin-Yumir? (Hind) Just when I thought that she hadnt been replying for a while, I saw Yumir with her hand stopped at a certain page and she looked as if she was trying to burn a hole through it. She didnt notice us looking at her. Just when we were going to give up and leave her alone, Yumir excitedly stood up from her chair. Ooooohhhh! Hind, lets go! (Yumir) Go? Where? (Hind) We decided to go turtle hunting right!? Come on! (Yumir) Calm down, you thoughtless girl (Riizu) Poh!? (Yumir) Riizu drove her staff into Yumirs knee. As a result, Yumir let out a strange sound and crumbled on top of the chair again. My sister sure does frightening things Since she took a minuscule amount of damage, I silently cast Healing on her. Wh-What do you think you are doing!? (Yumir) What do you think you are going to accomplish by blindly going there? The event is going to last an entire week, right? Things will change depending on how fast the enemies of the event are killed and the number of participants (Hind) NuguhYou are right (Yumir) So? What did you want to get? (Hind) The reward for the top player in the attack rankings (Yumir) Attack rankings? AhMaou said something about smashing that elder turtle (Hind) I turned to the event information page. Reward for number of exterminations, reward for attack ranking.ah, this one. First place, accesory Heros auratheres a video attached? After pressing the playback button, a player brandishing a sword in full body armor appeared. Each time he swung the sword, an azure light flowed through the sword. Furthermore, when he stopped and readied his weapon, lightning bolt like effects appeared around his body. There were other things mentioned in the listbut the point was that it was an accessory that Only gave you a hero like aura. In the video, each time he made a meaningless pose, light ranno, gushed out. Yup, it is kind of flashy. I could understand her from the bottom of my heart. She would definitely want something like this. You want it? (Hind) I want it! (Yumir) You know that this accessory is just for looks and doesnt have any stats though (Hind) I dont care about that! More importantly, its cool, right!? (Yumir) Yeah (Hind) However, first placefirst place, huh? Getting first place in this game that is not desolatedfirst placehuh Seeing Yumirs eyes glittering with expectation, Riizu looked at me with a worried face. Since its release week, I doubt there was enough time for information to be out there so could we take advantage of that? Besides, its more of a equipment for those that like this kind of thing and there are already posts in the BBS saying they dont want it The less people that participate in it will mean that the degree of difficulty will go down accordingly. Got it, lets do what we can (Hind) Really!? (Yumir) However, dont cry if we dont get it, OK? Riizu, do you mind if we do this times event like this? (Hind) In that case, Hind-san, make me a personal accessory. Ill agree if you do that for me (Riizu) No problem. Well then, for the time being, lets aim for first place in the attack rankings (Hind) Umu (Yumir) Understood (Riizu) Since we had decided on a general plan of action, we started to think about the steps we should take. What we needed was levels, a weapon with high offensive power and getting as many support magic as we can. We should start by examining how much experience we can get by fighting those turtles. For efficiency, we wont return to the Homa plains until we have progressed. Well make our preparations until the event is nearly over and then aim for the rankings on the last day. Since we were done talking, we exited the pub through the door. Huh? I can hearthe flapping of a birds wing from above me That hurts! What happened!? (Hind) Hind!? (Yumir) A-Are you OK!? (Riizu) The moment I turned to look upwards, something hit my face. It was harsh that the sense of pain wasnt reducedI felt something strangely hard. What fell from my face to the ground was some kind of package. While Riizu was nursing me, Yumir picked up the bag. The offender that dropped the bag was a gigantic living being making circles in the sky. With calm and elegant movements, it went away. Since it was very far I couldnt see it very well, but it seemed to be some form of lizard with feathers growing in its body, is that by any chance H-Hindinside the bag theres potions and a letter (Yumir) Huh!? Is that from Samael!? That guy, he really did send me potions (Hind) So, Im going to read the letter, OK? (Yumir) To my beloved friend, Hind. Your healing amidst that barrage of insults really touched my heart. It might be just a small gift, but Im sending you some beginner potions as thanks. I would like you to make use of them in your fights. From Samael, Maous army Number 2. I pray for your good fortune. Or so it says (Yumir) Cough, cough! Cough! (Hind) You are choking!? Are you OK!? (Yumir) When writing letters hes quite the the courteous person, huh? That guy (Riizu) More importantly, it seems like Hind has been recognized by the Maous army faster than anyone else. Should we be happy about this? (Yumir) Its quite the complex situation (Riizu) I dont know know where to retort anymore For the time being, Ill gladly use them now that we received them. After taking a breath, I put the beginner potions inside my inventory and the three of us headed to the Homa plains. Chapter 19 Nothing else to say this time, enjoy the chapter. The next day, Thursday, I logged to TB at 10 pm. The previous day we had fought turtles for a bit but the experience gain was quite lacking. Incidentally, the western part of the Homa plains had become an instanced dungeon for a limited time. This was probably done to prevent people from stealing event monsters from others. When they hear about things being up for a limited time, there are players that breach the usual etiquette after all so I believe it was a good choice. Today I have an appointment with my blacksmithing master Selene-san so I returned to Altrowa village. She said in the in-game mail that she was currently in the blacksmith workshop we first met in but Selene-san, why are you in that corner? (Hind) In the furthest corner of the workshopshe was currently curled into a ball. When she noticed me, she started to look around her restlessly like a small animal that had its guard up. Hind-kun, its only you? You came alone? (Selene) I came alone as you stated but (Hind) Ohlast time I told you right? That I was quite shy when it came to strangers (Selene) You did say that (Hind) For some reason, shes talking as if she knows that Im usually with other people. The moment I tried to ask her about it Was it the day before yesterday? I saw you with two extraordinarily cute girls andI was wondering what I would do if you came together with them (Selene) I see. Ill admit that their looks are superb but deep down they are pretty normal, you know? (Hind) Really? However, Ill feel shy when I meet a beautybe it a man or a woman (Selene) I wonder if theres really that much difference between them and Selene-san If she combed her hair and changed the frames of her glasses to a more stylish one, I believe she would attract the eyes of those around her. Its like shes not making the best use of what she has. Even though shes using the materials in the game really wellI wonder why. Well, you are right in saying that Im not particularly handsome. If that makes it easier for you to talk to me so be it (Hind) Y-You are wrong! At that time I was really happy that I found someone I could talk about minor weapons with and I suddenlyand the way you talk is kind of calming and gives me peace of mind (Selene) Im happy to hear that. Though I often mix in some rough sentences here and there, you dont mind that? (Hind) No, not at all. Because the feeling I get from you is gentlenessmaybe? (Selene) Gan! Gan! Just when we thought we had heard a very loud noise suddenly, we saw the player in the workshop next to us hit the iron with all his might with a hammer. When our line of sight met his, this time he glared at us like an asura. Somehow I could feel strong thoughts likego do that somewhere else! orget lost! S-Sosince it seems like well get in the way of those working if we talk here, shall we go outside? (Hind) Y-You are right. Excuse us (Selene) We decided to move somewhere else. When we did so, the guy next to us kept smiling while veins were popping in his head. I did really feel killing intent from himwere we that noisy? So scary. I did pay 300G to enter the workshop, but since there was no problem for them to return it to me if I didnt use it, it was fine. After that, because Selene-san disliked crowded places, I led her to the watchtower since it didnt have many people. It was the place where I last made our defensive gear. Its a quiet and nice place. Well then, lets start our information exchange (Selene) Yeah, guess Ill start. I have understood various things about the behavior of NPCs (Hind) Is it really OK? For you to give the information first (Selene) Last time you did teach me about blacksmithing without asking me to pay anything, I trust you Selene-san (Hind) That does make me kind of happy. In that case, go ahead (Selene) Right. As a matter of fact (Hind) With Claris-san as the base and with the information I gathered from the BBS, I put everything in order and told Selene-san. She was particularly surprised when I told her about when Claris-san became a peddler I knew that the second-hand shops shopkeeper had switched to an old lady, but to think that it was because Hind-kun and the rest took a quest (Selene) Please, dont tell anyone, OK? There are more fans of Claris-san than I thought after allif this information gets out, I might get PKd everywhere (Hind) When I reminded her, Selene-san made an impish expression. I have a bad feeling about this. I wonder what I should do (Selene) No no, its really not a joke! (Hind) Dont press the button! Dont press the button! Is it that kind of situation? (Selene) You are wrong! (Hind) Fufu, dear me, I was just joking. To begin with, when it comes to stuff like BBS and things like that, Im fundamentally a lurker (Selene) Dont scare me like that (Hind) I had told her pretty much everything I knew. The information that Selene-san told me about was fundamentally complementary to the information I currently had and also about the previous First-rate series of items I managed to craft last time. I was particularly interested in the latter and Selene-san had information about it so Regarding those first rate equipment, they seem to be affected by the rarity of the materials (Selene) Uwah, so it was that! I see (Hind) Since the answer was far more simple than I thought, I was quite annoyed at it. I thought it would have something to do with the degree of difficulty of the crafting or the time taken to do it From that reaction, you have been thinking about various theories, right? However, it cant be helped. The rarity of the materials are hidden in TB after all (Selene) In that case, the Al-Miraj armour and the tricorne I made (Hind) For the armor it was probably the Al-Miraj skin and for the hat it was probably the wool and the felt (Selene) Ahnow that I think about it, I had less of those items. However, I dont think there was that much of a difference between them, even if we talk about them being rarer, it was probably about 1 or 2 ranks higher at most. This means that for someone that has made a lot of gear like Selene-san, shes able to understand the rarity of the ingredients. She single-mindlessly goes from the trading BBS to the workshop and vice-versa after allwhen it comes to things like crafting, theres no comparison in the difference between our experience. Theres no way I can do the same thing as her. However, you are amazing, especially when it comes to the armor. You had not that much experience with leather crafting and its true that its made so that the precision judgement is quite lax. Even then, to hear that you were able to make a first-rate armor +8 on your first try (Selene) To sum it up, making gear from high quality ingredients make it so that the gear is of higher quality? (Hind) Thats right. Of course, if you are not skilled you wont be able to make first-rate items so you can be proud of yourself. You are quite skilled at sewing, huh? (Selene) Its probably been around 5 years since I started maybe? If you want to, should I make something for you? (Hind) When I said so nonchalantly, Selene-san face turned like that of a bird. Did I say something that weird? Even though she had made lots of gear up to this point, Selene-san was still wearing the beginner gear. That had bothered me. A giftfrom a guy? To me? Am I dreaming? (Selene) Selene-san? Hey (Hind) Ah!? I-Its nothing! Please do so! (Selene) What would you like? From how you look something like a white gownor a padded kimono would suit you. Selene-san gives the feeling of an indoor person after all (Hind) Eh!? How do you know what Im wearing in the real world!? (Selene) Eh? (Hind) Eh?Ah! (Selene) She self destructed. That being said, she wears a padded kimono, huh? Those are convenient to wear at home after all. Anyhow, since it wasnt something that you would wear in-game, I was planning to say it would be weird butI didnt expect it to go like this. Selene-san revealed private information by mistake after all, for some time the atmosphere turned delicate, but in the end we were able to continue exchanging information. Especially information that was useful for the eventthe current level cap, what she thought was probably the strongest weapon at the moment and the most efficient hunting grounds. I was really grateful for this information. Its not like shes part of the people that put effort into fighting, why is she so well informed? When I asked her, she told me that she had a knack for finding information but wouldnt tell me more. Well then, Ill excuse myself here (Selene) Got it, thanks for everything. Next time, Ill bring some gear as thanks (Hind) O-Ok. Im looking forward to itSee you, Hind-kun (Selene) Leaving with a bashful smile, Selene-san logged out right there. Well then, guess I should group up with those 2 and start leveling up. Chapter 20 That seems to be the case. Though apparently, after you reach level 25, it takes quite a while to level up (Hind) However, if they have already confirmed it that means (Riizu) Yup. It means that there are already players that have reached it. How much time have they devoted to TB? I kind of want and dont want to know (Hind) I meet up with Yumir and Riizu after returning to Heathrow town. Even though I had brought lots of valuable information, their attitude was somehow cold. Why? Even though it was information I got to help Yumir. Theyve been like this since I told them I was going to meet up with Selene-sanI dont get it. Right now, we were heading towards the hunting grounds she had told me. We were ascending the smooth hill at a quick pace. However, arent you going too fast Hind? Does it have to do something with the time? (Yumir) Yeah, the monsters we are planning to farm only appear at night. They only appear for 1 hour after 11pm, thats the reason we left town in a hurry (Hind) Which means that if we let this chance slip bythe next time itll be during 3am. That would be impossible for us (Riizu) That it would. That being said, I want to hurry up and get to the hunting grounds (Hind) I have heard all youve said! D-Degozaru! (?) Suddenly, there was a player standing in our way. He was wearing a navy blue jacket, hakama, gaiters, hood and straw sandalsa very Japanese outfit. In reaction to this man who was wearing all that to look like a ninja, we Ignored him and just went past him. I mean, we have no time to waste. Dont ignore me! Wacchi, its me, me! (?) Is this one of those Its me! scams? I dont know of any Shuuheis that go around trying to look like a ninja (Hind) You just called me Shuuhei! Say something Miyucchi! (Shuuhei) My job as a knight is telling methat I shouldnt leave my tank role to a ninja (Yumir) Eh!? What do you even mean!? (Shuuhei) I dont really want Yumir to act as tank anymore though, she dies too often. I found Shuuhei, who went as far as to remove his hood to plead to us, quite annoying. From his avatar I could see that he hadnt changed his face, he was the same as in the real world. R-Rise-chan! (Shuuhei) Oh my, just when I was wondering who you were, arent you nii-sans friend? (Riizu) Im so glad that Rise-chan is giving an honest reactio- (Shuuhei) Arent you the good looking Shuuhei that in the first year of middle school received double digits of chocolate during Valentine, but by the time he was in his third year, that amount was reduced to 0? (Riizu) You are the worst one!! Wacchi!! (Shuuhei) Ahright right. You did well to find us, Shuuhei (Hind) Sniffleaving Wacchin aside, those 2 do stand out after allonce I asked around it was pretty easy (Shuuhei) Shuuheis job was that of a light warrior, his type was the evasive one. He can dodge attacks with his skills, a type that fights in a way close to that of a ninja. I would have liked him to be a defense type heavy warrior thoughbut this is a choice that is up to the player. Its not like our balance is getting worse, it doesnt change the fact that I welcome an evasive tank. His player name seems to be Tobi. His weapon of choice seems to be dual Tantos. By Tobi you probably dont mean that bird right? Since you are a ninja, is it from Tobi Katou? Kato Danzou? (Hind) As expected of Wacchi, you sure are well informed. I even have a skill to guard allies, cool right? (Tobi) And in the end, youll end up assassinated in a toilet (Hind) You dont have to get into those details! (Tobi) However, your current gearit seems somehow lacking (Hind) Eh, why!? Dont I look like a perfect ninja no matter where you look!? (Tobi) I exchanged looks with Yumir. She probably felt the same way, Yumir gave me a big nod. As expected, here he should be wearing a lengthy muffler, right? Hind (Yumir) Yup, the crimson ones. Should I make one? (Hind) Why would I wear something that makes me stand out so much! What I want to play as is a ninja not a ninja! (Tobi) *1 Ninja written in katakana Even if he says that, the image Shuuhei has of a ninja should be different from a real one. Real ninjas usually wouldnt fight. Since their job is to mainly bring back information, the first thing they should think about is running awa- Hind-san, look at the time (Riizu) Whoops, thats right (Hind) Riizu pulled me by my sleeves, we had kind went off-topic here. To begin with, comparing a ninja inside the game to a real life one would be boorish. I like both types after all. Besides, its not the time to be playing around with Shuuheior rather, Tobi. Tsk, you are such a boring guy (Yumir) Boring you sayYucchi arent you being too cruel? (Tobi) And the way you call me makes me uncomfortable. The way you call me Miyucchi does too (Yumir) Ehin that case, Ill add chan and call you Yumir-chan (Tobi) Thats disgusting in its own way (Yumir) What do you want me to do!? (Tobi) Hey, we should get going (Hind) The sun was setting at the moment. Quite a bit of time had passed while we were talking. Ah, in that case, Ill guide you. You are going to Seikori hill right? Ive been there (Tobi) Id appreciate that butTobi, what level are you at the moment? (Hind) 28, why? (Tobi) So high! By the way, whats your total playtime? (Hind) Counting todayI probably passed the 40 hour mark (Tobi) When he said that, Yumir made an unpleasant face and started to step away from him. It seems like VR is able to reproduce body odor too after all Did he even take a bath? It was an action made with that thought in mind. So rude! I properly take a bath before sleeping! (Tobi) But to think he has played 40 hoursit basically means that he has spent all his time playing the game after returning home. Until late at night at that, probably until midnight. Even if launch day was a holiday and he could have played for a longer timehonestly, its a pretty high number. Riizu eyes looked completely shocked. I was quite concerned about it, so I added one last question. Tobi, for how long have you been playing right now? (Hind) Uhmsince I ate dinnerso around 4 hours? (Tobi) Long, thats too long. Is he an idiot? This guy. I wont say anything bad so go and log out right now, drink some water, go to the toilet and do some stretching (Hind) Eh? But (Tobi) Well wait for you! You are going to destroy your body at this rate! If you wont listen to me, I wont add you to my friend list nor play with you! Ill get worried if you come with us in that state! If you get it, hurry up and go! (Hind) O-Ok. Wacchi, you are so kindin that case, wait here for five minutes (Tobi) Do it properly! Its fine if you take longer than five minutes, come once your body is rested! You hear me!? (Hind) Understood (Tobi) Tobi logged out right there. The moment his body completely disappeared, my shoulders dropped dejectedly. In the end, even though we were in a hurry, we ended up losing time (Hind) Wont you leave him behind? Hind-san (Riizu) Its unusual but Im thinking the same thing. Do we even need him? (Yumir) Even though hes like that, hes that high leveled after allonce he comes back Ill have him work properly. Other than that, Yumir. With his playstyle, he can take attacks away from Yumir (Hind) Oh, that would be nice. Things like having to think about the balance with the rear-guard? Hate management? I think having to think about that kind of thing is annoying (Yumir) I dont believe you do that type of stuff properly thoughthe one that takes care of that kind of thing is Hind-san after all (Riizu) Im aware of that! (Yumir) Dont start putting on airs please (Riizu) While listening to their usual exchange, I sat down on a boulder close-by. After that, Tobi returned around 10 minutes after having logged out. Chapter 21 Seikori hill is roughly translated as hill where stars fall hence whats being mentioned in this chapter. Since the name is quite long in English I left it as is. The way Tobi speaks is by ending most of his sentences with a variant of gozaru. Something people should be quite familiar within this media. Because it just doesnt flow well in English I decided to remove it unless its really needed in the future. For now just imagine his way of speaking like that. If there are any suggestions or you feel like I should make any changes feel free to voice them out in the comment section. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. Seikori hill. At night, you can see a perfect starry sky there, a romantic spot. The stars were really pretty and its name came from the fact that it looked as if the stars would falljust kidding. Stars do really fall here and its simply called that because its a dangerous zone. Gugagego (Yumir) *1 Apparently a FFIV reference Yumir!!! (Tobi) Unluckily, a small meteorite had flattened Yumir onto the ground, with her face covered with sediment, Yumirs HP instantly reached 0 points. I immediately started to chant Revive to resurrect her. Hahaha. Having the shinto priest Hind-dono with us we can even fight plentifully in a place like this (Tobi) Dont laugh Tobi! And whats with that way of speaking! (Hind) Its what people call role-playing. I thought of speaking like this while inside the game You will probably break character soon enoughwonder how long youll last (Riizu) Since Yumir had stood up, I cast Healing on her to restore her HP. We are having such issues before even fighting, are we going to befine? Im worried. Hah, hah.I thought I was going to die (Yumir) No, you did die !? (Yumir) The spots where the meteorites will fall are marked with a red marker, so if you are careful you shouldnt take a direct hit. However, if you have to pay attention to meteorites all the time, itll be hard to fight the monsters. When it comes to the meteorites, if you are hit directly, youll die instantly. Even getting hit by the aftermath would deal huge damage so if you are not careful its be dangerous. The ground was full of holes, it was like a picture of Hell. Say Tobi. You did say that you came here before (Hind) Its just as youve said. The previous time I came was a complete coincidenceI was hunting monsters in a field close to here and before I noticed, the area turned gloomy I didnt know at the time that this place would turn dangerous at night because meteorites would fall and meteorites suddenly started falling, sadly (Tobi) You died. By the way, how was the death penalty? From the way you were saying that, you were playing solo at the time right? Whoops, this is scary. Move back (Hind) Once again, meteorites fell. We all moved to a safe spot and waited for monsters to appear. For the record, we couldnt see any other players in the area. The main reason for it would be because the information hasnt been divulged yet and it would have a bad reputation among players that want to play safe. The death penalty is reducing the current endurance of your gear by half and you also lose half of your money, my wallet took quite the hit at the time. Other than that, I guess your attributes are reduced for a certain time too (Tobi) Oh, seems like they are distributed quite fairly. You can just deposit your money in the banks that are located in towns after all (Hind) You are right. Compared to other games that would make you lose experience or gearah, its different if you get PKd you know? I heard that you have a chance to be stripped of your gear (Tobi) There are still not that many PKs. We probably dont have to worry about that for now. However, its important to not go around with a death penalty on you (Hind) Umu, Im counting on you Hind (Yumir) Being relied on that naturally by Yumir, I faintly knitted my eyebrows. I know that it cant be helped that itll end up like that, but I dont know what to think about them relying on me healing them from the start. You should start working on your own playstyle, got it? (Hind) I refuse! (Yumir) Dont reply immediately like that! At least act like you have been thinking about it for a moment! (Hind) The moment my suggestion gave no results From inside the meteorite, a huge number of small glittering gems appeared. Its coming! (Hind) From the smoke that was raised in the spot where the meteorite fell, rocks started floating. With the gems as a core, a meteorite was formed again and it slowly took humanoid form. The name of the thing that hit the ground and was standing there was Its a Meteo Golem! (Hind) The monster that fell from the sky started walking while producing tremors. Its been more than 15 minutes since we started fighting. As long as we dont attack it, the Meteo Golem wont aggro onto us. By making use of that information we fought the one that was the smallest and had the lowest level but Hind! Hind! (Yumir) What!? (Hind) My arm has gone numb! (Yumir) Bear with it just for a little bit longer! (Hind) Our strategy was really simple. The enemy swings were quite wide, while avoiding the meteorites we hit the monsters chest whenever we could. We were in a bit of a hurry, but it seems like the highest level golems are able to shoot a beam, I can say that Id rather not fight one of them that has that move. Once the gem that has become its core is exposed, we focus all our attacks on it. After a fixed time the chest will regenerate, if that happens, you have to repeat the process again. In the beginning, Tobi was using the instant death skill Aim at the vitals in rapid succession, but it seems like the Meteo Golems have high resistance to instant death so it kept missing. As a result, we settled for this strategy of shaving off the cores hp slowly. Guwah! (Yumir) Abah! (Tobi) Since they were paying too much attention to the meteorites, they fell victim to the golems arm. Just as I thought, the light warriors defense is quite low even at a high level! However, theres no denying that if Tobi wasnt here, our vanguard would have crumbled already. Counting the number of times they have died until nowits the 5th time for Yumir and this is the first time for Tobi. Since its pretty clear that Yumir has died a lot more, you could say that hes fulfilling his role of a shield that diverts attacks from us pretty well. I used holy water on Tobi and cast Revive on Yumir and they stood back up. If you die at the same time itll be hard on my CDs! Try to be more careful! (Hind) Kuh, I was careless! (Tobi) The meteorites are so annoying! They are as annoying as Tobi, Hind! (Yumir) So cruel! You are so cruel Miyucchi! Mixing me in there! (Tobi) Your way of speaking has already crumbled though Hind-san, after about 100 more dmg, the core will appear (Riizu) Alright, we are going to finish it the next time it appears! (Hind) Roger! Immediately after I cast the support magic Attack up on our vanguards, the core was exposed. Yumir used Act of desperation and Slash, while Tobi attacked in quick succession with both blades dealing critical hits. Furthermore, Riizu followed up with her magic butof all things, the enemys HP bar stopped at 1 pixel. This is bad, its going to regenerate its chest! Fall down! (Hind) I immediately leapt forward from my rearguard position and hit it with my iron rod with all my might. The blow that I was somehow able to hit the core with showed that it only dealt 10 damage butit was able to shave off its remaining HP. The Meteo Golem was unable to maintain its body and crumbled into pieces. Yumir sat on the ground and started to take big breaths. At the same time, her body was wrapped up with the level up light. Dah, so tired! Isnt it too hard!? (Yumir) Hey hey, dont sit down there! Meteorites are still falling, you know? (Hind) Oh, I forgot. However, are we going to make it in time for the event at this pace? (Yumir) Well, just calm down. How about you open your menu and look at your current level? (Hind) The level up phenomenon only happened 1 time. Yumir probably misunderstood, but she probably also leveled up more than 2 times Going by my predictions, she should have leveled up 3 or 4 times right now. Hind-dono! My current level has gone up by 1! (Tobi) Eh, really!? (Hind) A report of a level up had come from an unexpected direction. Even though I had heard that after level 25 it gets really hard to level up Dont tell me that you were just about to level up (Hind) If I remember correctly, I needed 2/3 of the level to level up, but usually that would take the whole day to earn. This is quite amazing (Tobi) Seriously? This is so efficientthis is probably going to be hotfixed by the developers soon enou-no, since its limited at night-time and there are all these meteorites falling, its probably adjusted this way. Its hard for a solo player and if you dont have a healer itd turn into a holy water festival after all (Hind) Hind! Im level 25 now! (Yumir) Im level 23, Hind-san (Riizu) Wow (Hind) Didnt we just go up close to 10 levels in one go? I should feel grateful for Selene-sans information. After that, having raised our stats because of the level up, we managed to beat 3 golems in total. As for the results of that day. Me and Yumir were level 26, Riizu was level 25 and Tobi was level 29. Since we had used quite a few holy waters and whetstones, we had ended up losing money, but I can say that the results were quite sweet. At this rate, we should be able to hit the level cap by the last day of the event. Chapter 22 Anyway, enjoy. However, working to get a weapon that will be thrown away after a single use, I cant seem to get worked up for it (Tobi) Is that so? I believe it depends on the way you think about it. If we talk about single-use weapons, it could also mean a decisive battle weapon! Or a secret weapon! It sounds kind of amazing just by saying it in another way (Hind) Oh! Im feeling more motivated now! (Tobi) Right? Besides, its not like itll become completely useless. I plan to sell it in the trading BBS after the event ends, attack type heavy warriors will definitely gladly use (Hind) Thats true. It would be hard for Yumir-dono to use it normally, but there would be no problems for a heavy warrior to use it after all (Tobi) Come on, dont just stand there talking, move your hands. At any rate, it wont change the fact that we need a large amount of iron (Hind) This type of work is so plaineven though we could say this kind of work is also part of a MMORPGs charm (Tobi) We earnestly swung our pickaxes. They were sold at the second-hand shop, each one cost 100G. The times you can use it is roughly 30 times. Harvesting points are placed all over the place, but in the field to the east of Heathrow town, there are a lot of mines. Therefore, its the ideal place to use the mining system to collect materials. When it comes to the mining system, each mining point can be used by only 1 player and they are set to regenerate after a fixed amount of time. Regarding the items you mine, the amount and rarity are somewhat random, but to a certain extent the results are about the same. The important thing is the number of times you mine. The truth isits currently early in the morning, right before we have to go and attend school. Before going to school and right after returning home, we log in for about 5-10 mins to collect materials. If we add that to the time we mine during our usual play-time, we are able to mine quite the nice amount. Since the usual way to obtain minerals is like this, they are quite hard to come by in the trading BBS. It would be fine to use the money we have earned, but for the materials we want to use, our current financial situation is a bit tight. With enough time the shortage of materials will be gone, but at the present time, we have to collect them with our own efforts. Ah, Im done. How is it going over there? (Hind) Just need a bit more time. Right now, the light from the mining point is starting to dim (Tobi) In that case, Ill go ahead first and return to town then log out (Hind) Wait! Wacchi wait! Ill get lonely! (Tobi) Whats with thatdont just change back your way of speaking so suddenly (Hind) Since we are mining at the same time for a change, wait for me just a bit (Tobi) Just as he had said, for both of us to be here mining at the same time in the morning was a complete coincidence. Once you register a player as a friend and they log in, the system notifies you of where they are, so as long as the timing is right, its easy enough to meet up. For the record, Yumir and Riizu said they would mine when they could as long as it didnt interfere with their daily life butboth of them are quite weak in the morning. Miyu just oversleeps but Rise has low blood pressure in the morning and at night. Theres no need for them to force themselves to play the game. You really dislike being alone huheven though you didnt mind being alone in the beginning (Hind) When you were a kid, didnt you ever notice you were suddenly alone when you thought you were playing with everyone? That caused a bit of trauma to mebeing alone in the swingswith a mother that wouldnt come and pick you upin a park when it was turning dark (Tobi) Ah, probably not for me. I was usually dragged somewhere after Miyu got tired of playing around and I usually was the first one to return home because I was worried about Rise (Hind) Am I the only one!? A-Anyway, Im about to finish so wait for a bit longer! (Tobi) Guess I have no choice (Hind) While Tobi was swinging his pickaxe, I went around the harvesting points in the grassy places nearby. Oh, there are medicinal herbs here. Speaking of medicinal herbs, I believe its about time I took an interest in making potions. Once the event ends, I want to set up a home and start working on it. Time passed and it was Sunday, 9pm, inside TB. That night, I stood in the blacksmiths workshop in Altrowa village with the large quantity of iron we four had collected in my inventory. Dah! I want a blast furnace! I want a blast furnace! With that, it would be easier to pour it into the template! (Hind) While voicing my complaints, I stepped on the bellows. The furnaces in the village are quite primitive, they are called Tempering furnaces and are about 1 meter in height. We were in the second step at the moment, we had already done the first step which was to reduce the oxygen in the iron oxide by deoxidation. By using the bellows I was earnestly increasing the temperature By the way, other than iron, we were also using the Meteoric iron we got from the Meteo Golems. Mixing these two materials, well make something of far better quality than what is usually made with simple iron! Or thats what Selene-san said. She said that nonchalantly while stepping on the bellows like me. Come on, do your best. I would also like to have a blast furnace or bellows powered by water wheels, but we cant complain about what doesnt exist. We just need to keep it up for a bit longer, hang in there (Selene) Damn it! If TB is based in the middle-ages could they at least implement Stckofens! Hah, Hahwhy is Selene-san not even out of breath!? (Hind) Because Im used to it. Hind-kun, you are putting a lot of unnecessary force into ityup, alright. From now on, we are finally entering the forging process (Selene) For low rank blacksmithing theres no need to manage the furnace, furthermore, by just making an approximate shape the weapons and defensive gear will come out of the furnace as if it was some sort of joke. After that, just by striking them theyll be completed, that only applies to low rank blacksmithing. For stuff thats more difficult, the process will turn more complex like this. Since its a game, the time it takes to increase the temperature is shortened, then it also tells you the amount of iron youll need for it. Particularly the latter one, things that might need about ten kilograms at most in real life to make have the amount necessary limited. The weapon we are trying to make right now is like that so Im personally grateful for it. Here we go! (Selene) Right! (Hind) We were holding a hammer that was slightly bigger than a normal one, its weight would be around 3 kilograms in real lifeor I believe that should be the case, inside the game it gives the feeling that it weights the same as it would in real life. Even though they dont really have to be so elaborate with stuff like thiswell have to swing the hammer multiple times so this is quite tiresome. Weapons have weight corrections after all, why cant they do the same with these tools? We brought down the hammer onto the reddened lump of iron. Each time it was struck, sparks flew around in a magnificent way. My face was hot because of the heatwhile removing the impurities with the pressure from the hammer, it was gradually taking form. I smoothed out the parts that looked rough, Selene-san was making the more detailed parts with a hammer that had a different shape than a normal one. We shared the image we had in mind. We both didnt say a thing, with coordinated movements, the weapon was being completed. Before long my arms stopped, all that was left was to watch over Selene-sans work. Done! (Selene) Selene-san raised her face. She looked as if she was happy with her work, so she made a circle with her fingers. The players around us were also looking over here with great interest. Oohseeing it in personthough its still inside a game. It looks pretty real even inside VR, its quite impressive (Hind) All thats left is to let it cool naturally, itll be done after we polish it. Thanks for inviting me over, Hind-kun. It was a really good experience for me. M-Makingsomething with just the two of us was fun (Selene) It was also fun for me. Thank you very much, Selene-san. All thats left is if shell able to use this well or not (Hind) This is not really what Im into, but this also has a certain flair to it (Selene) Strength is power! Or something like that, it looks like something someone a bit stupid would use (Hind) True (Selene) The result was a giant sword over 2 meters long, longer than the height of a normal person. Harder than the meteoric iron from the Meteo Golems, literally a decisive battle weapon. If this wasnt a game, Yumir would definitely be unable to lift this thing. This weapon is not something that was arranged by us but something made from a blueprint that already existed in the game. First-rate Meteo Golem Sword+2thats the name of the finished weapon we got this time via blacksmithing. Chapter 23 Enjoy. Hngg!!! It wont even budge! (Tobi) Thought so. With the base strength of a light warrior, I believed itd be rough (Hind) In front of us was the completed greatsword. Even though its weight was changed to be light compared to a real life counterpart, it was still big and its weight was nothing to laugh at. The place was Seikori hill, there were about 20 minutes until it was night time. We were finally close to reaching level cap. That famous sword that was said to be able to slay dragons is said to weight approximately 160kg. This oneits a bit thinner and since its made to weight less here (Hind) Even then it should be about 100kgs? (Riizu) Probably. Since we are inside the game we cant really weight it accurately. Its just that, the weight of a weapon does change when your offensive ability is reduced from removing your gear. Inside the game, STR does display that (Hind) Basically, Tobi, you are a weakling, weakling! Thats what it means! (Yumir) Shut up! Its just because I dont have the proper job! To begin with, a ninja that is a macho doesnt exis-wait, they do exist. They even exist in fighting games, now Im getting embarrassed (Tobi) Anyway, Yumir. Try lifting it. If you are not able to wield it we wont get anywhere after all (Hind) Umu, Ill give it a try (Yumir) Although a knights strength is lower than that of a heavy warrior, its strength growth is 2nd among all classes. The weapons they can equip are pretty similar too, the difference between both is that knights can equip magic swords and that their resistance to magic is higher. Heavy warriors are more physical oriented, their attack and defense is higher than that of a knight but they are utterly hopeless when it comes to magic. They cant cast magic at all and their defense against it is very weak. They are divided into heavy warriors being strong if they get in and knights having good balance. Hnnnn!!! (Yumir) Ooh, shelifted it? (Hind) Yumir lifted the sword in a perpendicular position. However, the point of the sword was shaking, with her arms shivering, she was currently making a face of anguish. A-Are you OK? (Hind) S-Somehow, if its moving ahead slowly and swinging it down in a straight line I think I might be able to do itguoo (Yumir) Such brute force. As I thought, Yumir-san wasnt a human but a gorilla (Riizu) Who are you calling a gorilla!? Furthermore, what do you mean by As I thought!? Dont move, Ill make you the first victim of this sword! (Yumir) Theres no way youd be able to hit me with those slow movements (Riizu) Kuhh!!! (Yumir) Taking advantage of Yumirs slow movements, Riizu started to poke her on the sides while having a dark smile on her face. Yumir could just let go off the sword too However, itd be hard to use it normally after all. Since this event is all about that one strike its fine, but in a real fight moving that slowly would be useless. As planned, Ill probably end up selling it once the event ends. Come on, its about time for the meteorite rush. Change back to your usual weapon and prepare yourself. Here (Hind) Nu!? I-it tickles! (Yumir) Just stand still. Ill be done soon enough (Hind) I put on newly crafted accessories on Yumirs ears. Hm.yup, there are also no issues with the dark brown color. The results are excellent. Hind, this is? (Yumir) These are the long awaited elven ears. You wanted them, right? Obviously, there wasnt a blueprint for them so I had to make an original version of them. Register them as a piece of gear later on (Hind) Oh, thanks! C-Can I put down the sword and take a look at them? (Yumir) Go ahead (Hind) Yumir dropped the sword onto the ground, along with a thunderous roar, a cloud of dust was lifted. She had tried to drop it quietly, but it seems like it wasnt possible. As I thought, this weapon is too heavy. Yumir started touching the ears and after checking them out after taking them off, she started grinning with a delighted face. Im glad. Those ears, they look like the real deal. What materials did you use to make them? (Riizu) Theres a marsh close to Altrowa village where rubber trees grow right? I gathered a sap called latex there, filtered it, changed its color and made them into that shape. I was a bit worried that the color wouldnt turn right, Im glad it doesnt look odd (Hind) Oh? Hind-dono, wont you mass produce these and sell them? (Tobi) Should I? I got the template for them so mass producing them shouldnt be too hard. However, would they even sell that easily? (Hind) What are you even saying Hind? Elves are the stars in fantasy settings, right? Of course theyd be in demand! (Yumir) Well, Ill think about it (Hind) I dont think itll fit everyone like it does to Yumir after all. Particularly, if we are talking about elves, dont they usually have the image of being pretty or handsome? For example, if we attached them to a chubby old maneven if he wanted to put them on, I dont think Id like to see that. While we were having that kind of conversation, our surroundings started to grow darker. Since our entire party had grown accustomed to it, we were earning experience while dodging the meteorites today. Fuhahaha! Too soft! Your bodies are too soft! (Yumir) Is the core over here? Hmm!? Did I get it wrong? (Tobi) While saying words that would come off a villains mouth, they both were killing Meteo Golems. Unlike when we first started, we now preferred to farm the high level ones. Thus, that was the reason they were both getting in the mood now. You are both so noisy. If you keep making all those pointless attacksIll curse you, you know? Until the event ends, Id rather not waste any time (Riizu) Right, Im sorry The reason for it was because the debuffs Riizu used on the Meteo Golems were really effective. One that reduced their offensive power Attack down, one that reduced their physical defense Guard down, another one that reduced their magical resistance Resist down and one that reduced their speed Slow, these four. Particularly thanks to the effects of Slow and Guard down, they were slow to begin with but now they were so slow that they looked as if they were standing still. When it comes to their toughness, Yumirs arm used to go numb because of their defense, but now it looked as if she was slicing tofu. Naturally, I was also buffing them like always. It might be because the affinity is good, but dark mages are really strong against strong foes. By the way, mages can choose from 3 types Fire and Wind, Water and Earth and Darkness. From these, Riizu choose the dark type that had plenty of debuffs. No, I should rather say I made her choose it. Well need debuffs for this event, even if I hadnt told her, I think she understood that we needed it. Whoops, the core has surfaced. Riizu took a pose with her staff and began chanting her offensive spell. Well then, as we had already arranged before, Ill begin testing this spell. You both should back away (Riizu) Hahaha, I got you! (Yumir) Ah, Yumir-dono, not fair! Ill be the one to deal the last hit! (Tobi) I did warn you. Ill shoot it now (Riizu) Eh? I silently cast Resist up on Tobi. Please live, both of you. Riizu shot a small black hole towards the core, it started to quickly suck in everything around it. I know this is a bit late, but theres friendly fire in TB. In the case of AoE magic, you wouldnt use them until your allies get enough distance from the monsters. Youd usually be careful about that. Furthermore, this Darkness Ball had the effect of pulling in whats around it. Once you get caught in it Abababa! (Yumir) Gueeee (Tobi) Together with the core, having been caught by the darkness ball, both of them were crushed and taking damage continuously. Since Yumir is a knight, shes able to withstand the magic, but since Tobis magic defense was low, he died before the Meteo Golem did. He was even buffed and this magic doesnt have that high of a offensive power but even then, it was impossible for him to withstand it huhlight warriors are so paper. After Tobi, the Meteo Golems body started to crumble. Unexpectedly, after Tobi reached level cap, more experience was distributed among us threeexcluding Tobi, the three of us were enveloped in the level up light. I cast Revive and immediately resurrected Tobi. Ah, I reached level 30 Hind-san. Such a joyous moment (Riizu) Its not joyous at all!! No, thats your fault for forgetting about the promise and attacking it (Hind) Obviously, being killed by friendly fire doesnt count as PKing. Another thing to know is that darkness type mages offensive power is not that high. What the Darkness Ball she just used excels at is at keeping monsters in check, the damage is so-so. It seems that the main role of a dark mage is to debuff and interrupt foes. Chapter 24 Having done all our preparations, we stepped inside the west side of the Homa Plains. Oh, there are quite a lot of giant turtles here (Tobi) On the other hand, we are now unable to see all the players that were here just a moment ago. Seems like we have entered the west side (Hind) 2-3 meters long turtles were walking around the plains. It didnt seem like they would start rushing at us suddenly. So peacefulwell, compared to Seikori hill, anywhere would be considered heaven. While I was in a daze, Yumir picked up a stick that was lying around nearby and poked the turtle. Then the turtle spat fire in her face. What are you even doing? (Hind) Cough, coughbut Hind. This flame only deals 1 damage (Yumir) Well, thats probably done so players that just started playing are able to clear the event. Didnt I say that this was an event to gather materials and craft gear from them? (Hind) The name that was displayed around us was Big Turtle, they were all below level 10. Compared to the level 30 Meteo Golems, these could be considered small-fries. So, was it calledElder Turtle? Do you know the conditions to make it appear? (Riizu) In the BBS, there was information saying that you need to beat a fixed number of Big Turtles around here to make it appear. Roughlyaround 30 of them (Tobi) In that case, lets keep the party and split up to farm them. Even if we are alone, it shouldnt be hard at our current level. In the case that you accumulate a decent amount of damage, dont be reserved and call me. It would be a waste to spend healing items here (Hind) Umu. Dont die out there, Hind (Yumir) I dont want to hear that coming from youoh well, Ill be careful (Hind) It was kind of natural for Yumir to worry about me, after all, I was the weakest one among us when fighting solo. Once we all split up, I faced a Big Turtle nearby. While dodging its sluggish attacks, I dealt damage to it with my staff. Its shell was hard, with a Shinto priests low physical attack I wasnt able to deal much damage. However, when I struck its head with my staff, the damage skyrocketed. Its weak point is its head, huh? Just as I had expected. I cast the buffs Attack Up and Magic Up on myself and alternated between hitting it with my staff and casting the low level light element magic Shining. Yup. I dont have any other means to attack other than these two, its quite sad. A hit with my staff on its weak point only did around 50 damage and magic needed some cast time but did around 200 damage. Each quick slash from Tobis tantos was around 200 damage and Yumir was able to deal damage exceeding 1000 so the difference was quite clear. -!! After alternating between both attacks 5 times, the Big Turtles legs finally gave in and it collapsed. This is the strength of someone that completely specialized in providing support to a party. If you wanted to go solo, you would probably choose the balanced type that learns a lot of light type attack magic or the attack type that can act as a vanguard. I could see that because in the time I was able to defeat one, all of them were able to defeat around 5 of them. Wait, now that Im taking a better look at them, isnt their way of fighting really messy!? Yumir, Yumir, their weakness is their heads! You can beat them without having to cut their shells in half! Tobi, in TB, you wont get more materials just because you cut their tails! Riizu, why are you poisoning them and just standing there!? Your face is so scary! Ah, jeez! (Hind) I gathered them all for the time being and asked them to concentrate on aiming at their heads. I even told them we didnt have much time Some time passed, this was the third Elder Turtle we were fighting, our last battle. Just as its name suggested it was about 3 times the size of a Big Turtleit was huge, about 10 meters, but it was already full of wounds. They appeared once its HP decreased, it lay down on its shell and surprised us by spinning at high speeds. However, It was only level 15for people at our level, it was just a monster with a bit more HP. Yumir! Start getting ready! (Hind) Umu! Ill change my gear now! (Yumir) Yumir brandished the Meteo Greatsword and started walking. To help with the damage, I had cast the buff Attack Up, Yumir had cast her own buff with demerits Act of desperation and Riizus cast her debuff Guard down, these 3. Since we were done doing that, all that was left was for Yumir to swing down that gigantic sword on top of the turtles head. Tobi, shadow weaving! (Hind) Understood! (Tobi) Tobi activated his Shadow weaving skill on the Elder Turtle. Its just for a bit of time, but since it stops the enemys movement itll make it easier for her to aim. Now! (Hind) Daaaaaaaaaaaa! (Yumir) Yumir activated the skill Heavy slash which she got when she reached level 30, the accelerating blade slashed the turtles head. The damage displayed wasa critical hit of 8893 damage. Its the highest we have seen until now. The first and second time it was shallow and only did around 3000 damage. TheElder Turtle crumbled, seeing the damage, both vanguards ran up to me while being flustered. How was it!? (Tobi) How was it, Hind!? (Yumir) Wait, wait. Ill check the rankings now (Hind) The rankings were updated really quickly and it probably already had registered Yumirs damage. Riizu slowly walked up to me and looked at my menu, I scrolled through the pages of the event menu. Lets see Events Attack rankingUpdated in real time 1st Place: Mercenary Albert (Heavy Warrior) 9745 Pts 2nd Place YumirKnightPts 3rd Place ( bb)Heavy warriorPts 4th Place Panda?The?Great Heavy warriorPts 5th Place I want a girlfriend Heavy warriorPts ? ? ? 2nd place (Hind) No way! (Yumir) No, its true. Ah, as expected, its full of heavy warriors (Hind) What do you mean? Hind-dono (Tobi) By any chance, did you have an idea it would be like this? (Riizu) Welltruth be told, heavy warriors have a self-buff that increases their own attack more than act of desperation. Its name is Berserker Edge. A special skill that increases your own attack by 3 times but reduces your defense to 0 (Hind) From looking at these rankings, we are winning in terms of the strength of our weapon. However, that wasnt able to make up for the difference in skillswe got all the buffs and debuffs we needed among us after all. Mages tend to be late bloomers in all games, archers and light warriors rely on their number of hits. Shinto priests are out of the question and knights are balanced. To begin with, this was an event that favored heavy warriors. The rest of the classes would work on unique rankings likeSubjugation ranking, AoE damage ranking, Number of critical hits and Healing value ranking. So vexing!!! Cant you do something about it, Hind!? (Yumir) Lets see (Hind) While looking at Yumir who was stamping her feet on the ground in frustration, I thought about what to do. Well, I do actually have an idea. However, it was something I didnt want to usewhats needed is for me to prepare myself. I declared to them while Tobi was trying to calm down Yumir and Riizu was looking at her in exasperation. Got it, Ill do something about it (Hind) When I said so, Yumirs eyes sparkled in delight. Tobi and Riizu looked at me with surprised faces. Really!? Hind (Yumir) Yeah. However, we are going to do it on the last day of the event. Its already past 12. And, Ill be the one to use the skill point book we got from Claris-sans quest, OK? (Hind) Umu. To begin with, thats a quest that you found, I wont complain about you using it. I dont know what you are going to do, but anyway, its tomorrow, right!? I have great expectations! (Yumir) Wait wait wait, Hind-dono! Is it really OK!? Arent you promising her without giving much considera- (Tobi) Itll be fine. Come on, its late, lets return to the village and log out (Hind) Chapter 25 After that Ill be shifting my focus back on Bu ni Mi so expect updates on that series soon. Will probably make some sort of announcement soon but I still dont know when. Dont think theres much else to say, enjoy the chapter. The last day of the event ishere!!! (Yumir) Yumir you are so noisy, why are you so lively? (Hind) Hind, what about you? Why are you not energetic? Do you have a stomachache? (Yumir) Why would I? It might look uncool, but I do wear a chest protector when I go to sleep (Hind) I knitted it and its warm you know? Wait, now its not the time to be talking about that. Its now Wednesday, 10pm, the last day of the event. The event does end once Thursday comes, so we have around 2 hours left. Pushing through the players who were coming back from their last try, we were heading towards the west side of the Homa plains. Hind-san. I saw you log in earlier than usual today, but what were you doing? (Riizu) Oh. Sorting my inventory and depositing my money in the bank. Even though its inside a game, I cant calm down when I bring unnecessary money on me (Hind) Isthat so? (Riizu) Thats the case (Hind) Riizu seemed to doubt me, but she didnt keep pushing. Tobiwell, hes making a face that shows he has an idea. Hes someone that is more enthusiastic about collecting information about TB after all, so thats a given. Placing his arm around my shoulders, he began talking to me in a way both of them couldnt hear him. Hind-donodid you really pick it up? That skill. After we split up yesterday, I was curious and took a look at the skill tree of Shinto priest and (Tobi) I did. After using the skill point book I had just enough SP for it. Its just thatbecause I did that, I have to postpone getting the skills I really wanted (Hind) Ohyou dont mind? Even if its fine this time, you might fall behind other players in future fights (Tobi) Nothing I can do about that. Dont tell them until everythings over, OK? Once I use it, I wont be able to move after all (Hind) Hind-dono! You are so manly! (Tobi) You are exaggerating. This a game, you know? (Hind) Seeing both guys laugh, Yumir and Riizu tilted their heads at the same time. You twodont go making such a disgusted face just because you synchronized your movements so well. Dont glare at each other. Right after, I opened the menu one more time to check the rankings. Events Attack RankingUpdated in real time 1st PlaceMercenary AlbertHeavy warrior9978Pts 2nd Place: Yumir (Knight) 8893Pts 3rd Place: Hipopo Master (Heavy warrior) 8354Pts 4th Place: ( bb) (Heavy warrior) 8210Pts 5th Place: Panda?The?GreatHeavy warrior8122Pts ? ? ? 3rd place has been replaced with someone else, first place has done more damage than yesterday This first place person is particularly amazing, isnt he leading with quite a big lead? Though, you could also say that its easy to see with these numbers. In short, its fine as long as it surpasses 10.000 damage, right? Well then, lets go (Hind) When I gave the command, the three of them nodded. After that, about 30 minutes passed, it was 10:30 pm. The Elder Turtle had been struggling violently and finally stopped its high speed spin. Simultaneously, it also showed that it didnt have much HP left. Alright, Yumir! (Hind) Wait, Hind! This will end just like yesterday, you know!? (Yumir) Its fine. Trust me (Hind) Yumir was trying to guess what my real intention was, but before long, she nodded. Well, I didnt tell her anything so its normal. Got it (Yumir) Once Yumir switched her sword, I immediately started casting my new skill. Since it was a big spell, a gigantic magic circle appeared under my feet, it started to spin around me while glowing. Having completed the long chant, Icast the spell called Sacrifice on Yumir. When I did so, Yumirs body was clad in a golden light. Oh! This golden aura, its what they call a victory flag, right!? I can feel my spirit raisingits overflowing! (Yumir) D-Dont say stupid things, hurry up! Whats with this? My body really hurts! Ugh!!!! (Hind) At a pace that was unlike the DoT from poison or burn, my HP was decreasing. Thats fine, its what this skill does. In exchange for sacrificing your own body to god, you wish for divine protectionthat kind of skill. However, I didnt expect this pain that felt like my body was being torn apart! H-Hind-san!? Your HP is being shaved off at an alarming pace! Ill heal you no- (Riizu) Wait Riizu, dont use potions! While Im using this skill I cant be healed! Ouch! Tobi! (Hind) Y-Yeah! Y-Yumir-dono! Here I go! (Tobi) Umu! Ill leave it to you! (Yumir) Tobi used shadow weaving and Yumir moved forward. Thus, the long events final blow was brought down onto the elder turtle along with her shout. A thunderous roar, sediment flying in all directions, furthermore, fierce wind pressure was scattered around. The damage displayed was17437. The moment I saw that, my HP reached 0 points. Eheh? Was the groundalways this close? Nii-san? Nii-san!? Noooooooo! (Riizu) H-heyRiizu, this is just a game. Thats why you dont have to make such a tragic scream Ah, its a waste to use a holy water. I cant be resurrected after all, this Eventually, I was unable to hear what was going on in my surroundings and my field of vision turned grey. My body wont do as I say and I cant put any strength into it. The temperature of my body felt like I was having a serious fever. Yumir, who was in high spirits after seeing the damage rushed over to me while being confusedright after seeing her figure, I lost consciousness. Scary! So scary! Whats with this useless realism!? (Hind) The moment I regained consciousness, I unintentionally shouted. The NPCs around me froze in surprise when they heard my voice. Ah, Im sorry. This isHeathrow town? If I remember correctly, once you die, youll return to the last town you visitedor at least thats what Tobi With a Shinto priestssolomaybe? if he doesnt have, hes an idiotright? I could heard gossip coming from a male and a female player. You guys are the stupid ones for observing the respawn point! Idiots! Its not like I died because I went in solo, damn itit hurts. Because of the after effects of the skill, I had something like muscle-pain, I feel terrible. Ill send a mail to all 3 of them and wait at the usual pub so I started moving. I withdrew all the money I previously left with the banks NPC, and went to the pub after repairing my gear. All thats left of the death penalty is the decrease in statsbut that will take around 20-30 minutes. Theres even time left after I was done buying the stuff I needed making this time quite the nuisance. Not that it matters tonight. With that much damage, theres a one in a million chance well fall down to 2nd place after all. Hind-san! (Riizu) Just when I secured four seats that were vacant, Riizu entered the pub as if she was going to fall over and hugged me. After that, Tobi entered with an apologetic face and Yumir had her arms folded and I understood that she was angry. Ah, I dont even have to guess, Tobi told them everything. DidI choose the wrong place? S-Should we go outside first? (Hind) While suffering from gazes of envy and teasing, I went outside while being hugged by Riizu. We calmed down while relaxing on a bench located in a flower bed in the outskirts of town. EhI guess I should start with Riizu. Until when does she plan to cling onto me? Shes been stuck to me all the time and now we are sitting in the bench like this Ah, eh, Riizu? (Hind) I hate it (Riizu) W-what do you mean? (Hind) While leaning on my chest, she whispered that. When she suddenly separated her face from it, she held my face with both hands while tears were appearing at the end of her eyes. You know, your brother is feeling quite embarrassed in this posture Even if I know its just a game, I hate seeing nii-san die in front of my eyes! Dont ever use that skill again! (Riizu) Ehbu- (Hind) No buts! Nii-san! (Riizu) W-Well, it does hurt while I use the skill. Once I come back from the dead it also feels oddly lonely. Yup. Since its tiresome I wont use it again. (Hind) Maybe she didnt realize she was crying, but when I wiped her tears with my finger, her face turned crimson and she buried herself under her hat. Then, she finally separated herself from me. I didnt expect Riizu to have such a big reactionI do kind of feel bad. A-Ahbut, it really does feel lonely, huh!? When you revive! (Tobi) Y-yeah. You experienced it too, right? That feeling of your life force slowly draining from your body is so scary! Its not something Id like to experience often! (Hind) I know right!? (Tobi) Tobi is also trying to be careful about what he talks about. Sorry, Ill invite you to some juice at school When we exchanged awkward smiles, Yumir, who had had her arms folded since a while ago stood in front of me in a daunting manner. Hind. You still havent explained yourself to me, you know? (Yumir) A-ahthats right. Y-You see (Hind) I heard everything from Tobi. That consumes 10 skill points, a meme skill that no one takes. Youdo you really think Id be happy by winning in a way that you have to sacrifice yourself!? (Yumir) Well, its true that I even sacrificed my skill points, but isnt it fine since we have guaranteed us winning the event? Hahahaha! (Hind) Im not laughing, you know? (Yumir) Yeah, Im sorry (Hind) You would usually only spend 1-2 points on a skill and for strong skills, at most you would spend 3 points. Since I took this Sacrifice skill, my build was a mess for a level 30 Shinto priest. I havent picked up the core skills after all. The upgrade to HealingHealing Plus, the party healing skill Area Healing etc Generally, you cant get back the skill points you have spent, so I foresaw a situation like todays and didnt acquire various useful skills. Regarding this Sacrifice skill, the buff is tremendous, but on top of being unable to get healed and resurrected, the user will definitely die. Its that kind of meme skill. Having the healer of the party die first and being unable to resurrect him. Getting a death penalty on top of it, a skill with a triple handicap where the Shinto priest doesnt gain anything. Yumir is extremely angry, so I chose my words very carefully. Even then, I wanted to see your delighted face once you received the rewardwas it wrong for me to do it? (Hind) W-Wha!? (Yumir) Yumirs face was dyed crimson. Wait, this wasnt the reaction I was expecting When I gave Tobi a sidelong glance, he was grinning in an irritating way. Uhihihi. Yumir-dono, your face is bright red! (Tobi) Shut up Tobi! H-Hind, y-you! (Yumir) To make up for it, I used the skill point book, so dont worry about it. Its something I did on my own without consulting you first after all. Besides, its true that I felt that I didnt want to lose in the rankings. Its not like it was just for you (Hind) W-Well in that case (Yumir) Just leave that matter aside, you should just be more honest and be happy! On top of securing 1st place, you dealt 17437 damage, you know!? (Hind) Y-Yeah (Yumir) It might be because the fact that she had placed 1st started to sink in, Yumir started grinning and making a delighted face. Thats right, thats the face I wanted to see. After that, she forcefully pulled me by the arm to make me stand up and shouted cheerfully while raising my arm. Its our victory! (Yumir) Ah, yeah yeah (Hind) Are you going to be so indifferent at such a moment!? (Yumir) My body hurtsI cant bring myself to raise my voice (Hind) R-Riizu-dono!? Even if you dislike the situation, dont go hitting me! S-Stop! (Tobi) DDDD (Riizu) There was still some time left in the event, but we decided to stop fighting for the rest of the night. While we were engaged in idle talk, the date changed, the events results were as follows. Events Attack RankingUpdated in real time 1st Place: Yumir (Knight) 17437Pts 2nd PlaceMercenary AlbertHeavy warrior9978Pts 3rd Place: Hipopo Master (Heavy warrior) 8354Pts 4th Place: ( bb) (Heavy warrior) 8210Pts 5th Place: Panda?The?GreatHeavy warrior8122Pts Chapter 26 Just as there was an act during the event opening, it was obvious that there would be one for the ending. In order to do that, the servers went on maintenance from 9am-3pm on Thursday, and the developers announced that there would be an act to end the event on the official page. Seems like its slated to be at the same time as last time, at 10:30pm. Having obtained this information, Shuuhei told us there was a surge of Threads to cheer for Maou-chan in the BBS. Since we had been too enthusiastic during the event, we decided to just watch the event and log out today. However, thats excluding Tobi, who was going to play for long. We gathered in Heathrow towns pub, we waited for the closing event while trying out the newly implemented hunger system. The first meal we ordered in TB wasa sandwich made of rye bread, ham and cheese accompanied with some milk. HmmI think its pretty normal? (Yumir) Really? I believe the mustard gives it that kick it needs and it doesnt taste half bad though? (Tobi) This person just doesnt realize that her tongue has grown refined. It annoys me, but shes been eating Hind-sans cooking every day after all (Riizu) She says that it tastes normal but shes eating it really fast. Look, they are falling all over the place (Hind) Hmm! (Yumir) I picked up all the breadcrumbs and placed them on the empty plate on the table. The owner who had made these sandwicheswas that refined and slender middle aged man. Even though until yesterday he was only talking with people from the other side of the counter, today he was suddenly busy cooking. It seems that you can buy alcohol as long as you are not a minor and theres even a system that simulates being drunk. By the way, regarding the food in TBit seems that you wont ever feel like you are full. So, Im glad that something likeyou ate too much inside the game so you wont feel hungry in real life wont happen. I wonder if there will be any difference in taste depending on the shop? Considering the performance of the AI in TB, I wouldnt be surprised if each shop had its own taste (Hind) If thats the case, it would be fun to search for a shop that you like, right? Hind-san, will you cook inside TB too? (Riizu) Yeah I will. It seems that making your own food is cheaper than buying it after all (Hind) You are going to be frugal even inside the game? (Tobi) Hes through and through like that, you know? Hes been like that since we started playing the game (Yumir) Oh right, currently, Yumirs name is not being displayed above her head. Because she got such a score in the damage rankings, in order to not get involved with players that thought she cheatedthough, she did get involved with them as soon as she logged in. To summarize it in a gentle wayit went like this. For a knight to get 1st place, she obviously cheated! That kind of damage is suspicious! Or, maybe she knows someone in the developer staff? The reality was that the words they used were far more abusive, so after calling a GM I asked him to take care of it. Seems like the GMs go around TB disguised as normal players, so if you are lucky, theyll answer your call right away. Once we notified them, an old man with a mustache immediately came over and left after warning the players. When it comes to abusive language, your account will be temporarily suspended after your 2nd warning. That being said, per that GMs suggestion, it was made so that only Yumirs name would appear in the rankings. Name display settings can only be changed by those players that havent done PK activities and their names are blue, PKs and people that have done criminal acts against NPCs are unable to hide their names. There are quite a few players that hide their player names, so it shouldnt be that odd for Yumir to do so. For the record, we all changed our email settings to Friends only. This way, if they only know the player name, we dont have to worry about receiving threatening emails. Yumir said she was quite displeased about having to hide herself like this even though she had done nothing wrong, but seems like the developers will release a replay of the person that took 1st place so shell have to endure until then. A short while ago, the developers emailed us asking if we wanted to release the replay to the public or not, since we were angry that the players doubted us, we all agreed to it. If they kept doubting us, we wouldnt be able to have fun in TB from now on after all. Its been decided that the replay video will be uploaded shortly after the events final act. Oh, the captions have appeared! Let us go and meet Maou-chan! (Tobi) Tobi, you like that sort of thing? (Hind) Are you a lolicon? (Yumir) Are you a pervert? (Riizu) These tears that are coming from your cruel words! Wait, wrong! Its not because shes a loli, its justyou get this feeling you have to protect her, that kind of cuteness pulls at my heartstrings- (Tobi) Alright, lets go outside (Hind) Wait! Dont leave me behind! (Tobi) After paying the bill, we left the pub while the owner bowed his head. Since this time there had been a prior announcement, there were way more people gathered outside than last time. Cracks started to appear in the air. The unstable picture slowly formed a silhouette, eventually, the projection took form. However, it wasnt the cute appearance of Maou-chan that everyone was expectingbut the Maous army number 2, Samael, who was grinning. Hahahaha! Its been 1 week, you ignorant people! Wait wait! Dont throw stones at me, dont cast magic, dont shoot arrows! Please, listen to what I have to say first! After that, Maou-sama will grace you with her words! (Samael) I can only smile wrily at this point. By the way, Tobi was throwing stones along with the other people. Once they heard that Maou-chan would appear, the surroundings turned quiet. If you paid attention, you could hear someone doing vocal exercises behind Samael. A I U E O, or something like thatam I imagining things? Ahem! We have witnessed your fights from the Maous castle. As a result of that, well reward those that showed promise with items thatll come in handy in fights! (Samael) Samael is probably referring to the rewards for the event rankings. Since Yumir still hasnt received her Heros soul, it seems like shell receive it after this final act from the looks of it. By making use of them, cover yourselves further in blood, fight, fight! Become strong and stand before us! Maou-sama will proceed to name those she has deemed worthy. Be grateful! Come, Maou-sama. Its your turn! (Samael) Sa Shi Su SeCeh, already!? Wait wait! (Maou) After some clattering and rustling sounds, the figure of a nervous Maou-chan appeared in the sky. The cheers of the playersespecially male ones, erupted. Maou-chanso she still minded how the last time she bit her tongue Maou-chan UoooooMaou-chan!!!D-Degozaru!! (Tobi) Me and Riizu started to back away after seeing Tobi like that. This guyso he had that side to himI didnt know. Yumir was really looking forward to receiving her reward from Maou-chan, so she was ignoring him and staring at Maou-chan. F-First off, the one who struck the most vital points of the turtles, ThiefEdward! I-Ill grant you a star necklace! Be grateful! Next one- (Maou) While stumbling and biting her tongue, Maou-chan awkwardly kept naming the names of the players that placed 1st in the rankings. Seeing her admirable efforts, the players cheered even louder. Shouting until their throats were hoarse and because there was this feeling of oppression in the airRiizu started to make a disgusted face. The player that placed 1st in the critical rankings seemed to be close to us, he seems to be happier from having his name called by Maou-chan than from getting the reward. A light appeared above his head and the item made its appearance, once he extended his hand towards it, the necklace fell down. I see, its like thatwait, since an aura doesnt really have a physical form, how are we going to receive it? It seems that some players arent logged in either, will it directly appear in your inventory? After that, the ranking results were announced one after another, and it was finally the time for the attack ranking. As for the last one! The one Ive watched over the most, the one whose blow on the elder turtle resounded throughout the heavens. Shouldnt I deem that person a hero worthy of opposing me!? However, you wont receive anything from me! A worthy power already dwells within your body! I await the day you stand before the Maous castle, Hero Yumir! Hahahaha! -cough, cough! (Maou) W-Water! Someone bring some water! Are you OK, Maou-sama!?T-That will be all! Well have to say goodbye for the time being, you ignorant people! (Samael) Before they could throw stones at him, the projection of Samael looking after Maou-chan who choked disappeared. Ehwhat about the aura? It seems like Yumir also didnt understand what Maou-chan was trying to say, we both tilted our heads at the same time. Chapter 27 No content Chapter 28 Just for the record, the author made mistakes with the comment numbering in the BBS throughout the chapter and I had to manually fix them. If I made a mistake in the process or I missed any, feel free to point it out in the comments. As I previously stated, Ill now proceed to start working on Bu ni Mi again, but Im not sure when the chapter will be out or if youll see more VRMMO chapters soon. Ill see what I can do. Hope you have enjoyed the series so far, enjoy the chapter. Andthis is the thread for the event after it ended (Shuuhei) I can sort of guess whats in it without looking butIll take a look (Wataru) It would be a pain to take out my own smartphone so I just borrowed Shuuheis. Well, lets just skim through the really harsh bits. It would be bad for my mental health. Throw stones]Subjugation event ranking thread 6at Samael] This is a thread to talk about the rankings in the on-going event. If you are not interested in the rankings and just want to chill and collect materials, please head to the Thread to talk about the event. Ignore the trolls and be well mannered. Since there will be a fast flood of comments during the event, the next thread will be made once we reach >>900 comments. 321Nameless knightID77jtth5 Fir- lol The knight in 2nd place in the attack rankings finally did it! lol 333Nameless mageID9QXZ2kM 17437 lmao No way lol 352Nameless light warriorIDEzZPL2j Eh? This probably means a BAN, right? 366Nameless Shinto priestIDEURpkCX Sacrifice Sacrifice (whispering) 371Nameless archerIDRWiKgG7 C H E A T C O N F I R M E D 380Nameless heavy warriorIDW7RR9hR They are so dumb for seriously doing it 388Nameless heavy warriorIDNzpm7nh I lost my motivation (Wataru) Wa-! Wacchi, my smartphone is going to break! I know how you feel! I really do! But calm down! (Shuuhei) Ah, sorry (Wataru) I should and make my judgement after reading various replies in the thread. I picked the most appropriate messages within the flow of messages and it was something like that. There was 1 Shinto priest that realized it was possible for it to have been the Sacrifice skill but since the messages flowed really quickly no one paid attention to him. Thats how it would turn out since its something they probably havent seen Just endure it for a bit longer. Though it was like that until Thursday (Shuuhei) It was after this right? When they participated in the events final act and the videos were released (Wataru) You could change the point of view in the released video, it was an overhead view where you could see the four of us, but the camera did move arbitrarily on its own. What was not added was our voices, but you could understand it with a single glance because the buffs?debuffs and our status was shown. You could limit the amount of information that was released to the public, but in order to dispel their doubts, we had the resolution to leave everything in the open. If there are people that still doubt us after watching this, it would be just people that think they know more than other players. 701Nameless light warriorIDFbpDwf8 It just ended normally with Maou-chan naming those in 1st place though 722Nameless heavy warriorIDVKPkYgG Yeah. I cant really accept this. 730Nameless knightIDay6XRMT They probably wont upload the video anyway 732Nameless mageIDxSteuFP The fact that they did it unfairly would come to light after all. 734Nameless martial artistID8NK5Qez @730 The video is up. It has been released to the public. 737Nameless heavy warrior IDwWMzGaD Eh? 738Nameless Shinto priestIDDKVJQKS No way lol. 739Nameless archerIDm8T4AiB Ill go take a look! The flow has changed (Wataru) Mufufu. Wacchi, you are starting to grin, you know? (Shuuhei) You are the one doing itIll keep reading (Wataru) OK! (Shuuhei) 770Nameless knightIDP8RDJsp Ah. The knight and witch were cute Im so jealous of those 2 guys in their party. 771Nameless heavy warriorIDmHEHzbg @770 Thats not what you should be looking at! lol However, whats with that sword lol 772Nameless archerIDm8T4AiB Thats too big to be called a sword. Too big, too thick and heavy, furthermore 773Nameless Shinto priestIDmtRcY5U @772 Yeah, she was basically approaching her limit there LMAO She was kind of shaking there lol. 774Nameless heavy warriorIDFTCYr2C I see, so it was ok to arrange the weapon and make it bigger huh 775Nameless mageIDAY9LVHG But if that knight had that much offensive power it pretty much confirms that it was first-rate too. You know that its really difficult to craft one of those, right? 776Nameless Shinto priestID54axFgn So they are lucky that they got a skilled crafter 777Nameless archerIDm8T4AiB They also timed their buffs?debuffs cleanly. It was a tactic played by the book. That ninja? His shadow weaving was really effective. 778Nameless Shinto priestIDEURpkCX You are right that it was played by the book. That S A C R I F I C E was unexpected! Thats why I told you it was that! 779Nameless martial artistIDswPcSQ4 @778 Eh? When? 780Nameless Shinto priestIDEURpkCX I said it @366! Since no Shinto priest uses it no one has experienced it. 781Nameless martial artistIDswPcSQ4 It cant be helped, the messages were flowing really fast. However, that was a blind spot that no one realized, huh? 782Nameless Shinto priestIDEURpkCX I think its pretty normal unless you are a support type Shinto priest. I was curious about the skill because Im a support type. It would hurt me in various ways so I didnt pick it up lol You will be unable to get any other skills for a while after all! 10 SP is just way too much! 783Nameless light warriorIDM3VQr6c That Shinto priest guy did faint in agony after all I cant blame him after being damaged by that DoT. 784Nameless mageIDFFjW6nD All the knights stats did transcend anything Ive ever seen though. It would have no real use in a normal fight thoughI mean, continuous DPS is more important after all. The duration of the buff is too short. 785Nameless archerIDCHZfEpY Furthermore, the Shinto priest would get no experience or drops. Theres also this poor treatment of getting a death penalty with a 100% chance lol. 786Nameless heavy warriorIDBbitUGE The embodiment of self-sacrifice! After hearing that, Ive begun to think of that Shinto priest as some sort of buddha 787Nameless knightID8ANLNnD Well, you normally wouldnt pick it up. The job within a party of a Shinto priest when it comes to fighting strong monsters is to survive until the end after all. 788Nameless archerID8ANLNnD However, with this, all the people that thought it was cheating will be gone. 789Nameless knightIDiHZH4tS Well yeah If it was me, I wouldnt comment until I changed my ID. In an act of shame. 790Nameless heavy warriorIDGk6FZd8 I did mostly lurk around since the messages were flowing really fast. I was also aiming for the rankings so I kind of understand them. However, attacking people is a no go. Even more if its people you havent met yet. 791Nameless archerIDk75NrWy Once the cover was off, I was surprised that it was a beautiful player. Because of those guys bashing them I had a bad image of them. Well this might be a bit off-topic Were there any elven ears equipment? 792Nameless martial artistIDnGBJ9k4 Who knows? I havent seen them so they are probably arranged? 793Nameless Shinto priestID54axFgn There are no blueprints for the hat of that mage girl either you know? 794Nameless archerIDk75NrWy I see. I wonder if they would sell me elven ears. I think that when you think about bows, you would imagine an elf, right? 795Nameless heavy warriorIDDBPhVfr @794 Are you really going to say that elven ears would suit you? 796Nameless archerIDk75NrWy It would be hard for me to say it if you put it like that lol. But I want to wear them! 797Nameless mageIDn94WPci They suited Yumir-chan really well! The ideal dark elf. She had nice style too. That innocent expression of hers in the video was also good. 798Nameless light warriorIDcNBRVxa I prefer Riizu-chan who is small in various places!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 799Nameless knightIDDBc49di Dont shout like that so suddenly. You are being noisy. 800Nameless light warriorIDcNBRVxa I prefer Riizu-chan who is small in various places 801Nameless shinto priestID8SKWVpF (Her having a mole under her eye is quite sexy, right! Her cold reproachful eyes are nice too) 802Nameless heavy warriorIDDBfCh9c These guys are too far gone! 803Nameless martial artistIDnGBJ9k4 Hey, I heard that they made a thread about Yumir-chan. It was called Thread to praise Hero-chan lol. 804Nameless mageIDn94WPci !? 805Nameless heavy warriorIDDBfCh9c The people of that thread had some rivalry with the people of the Maou-chan thread LMAO 806Nameless archerIDhZaSwwB They were so quick! LOL We shouldnt put NPCs and players in the same category lol. (Wataru) Wacchi (Shuuei) Yup. The way they treat us is way worse than the girls and there are various things I want to say but (Wataru) Take that!!! Well, this was quite refreshing. This feels quite good. Though, we actually had nothing to feel ashamed of. Wacchi. You are glad that you saw it, right? (Shuuhei) Yeah, its just as you have said. This is the type of joy you can share with others, it makes you want to show them as soon as possible (Wataru) Right? (Shuuhei) But Shuuheiseems like lessons are about to start (Wataru) Eh!? (Shuuhei) Its about time they begin (Wataru) The moment I took a look at Shuuheis smartphone it was nearly time for them to begin. When I urged him to take a look at the clock in the school building, Shuuhei started to turn pale. I left him like that and started running. We wont make it at this rate! We are running! (Wataru) Wait! Wait Wacchi!! (Shuuhei) I sprinted with all my might and tidied up the tools, Ill leave these for later. After that, we somehow made it in time. However, since we were panting, our classmates looked at us in a weird way for a while. We were too absorbed in reading the BBSIm glad that we werent late. Chapter 29 For those that dont read Bu ni Mi, I made an announcement a couple days back in regards to the future of this blog so take a look at it if you want, it should be the top post in the blog. As for the nickname Sai in the chapter, while I know the full name is CinerariaCi-chan just didnt sound right and I just literally put the pronunciation as a nickname. Dont really have much to say other thanIll try release as much as I can. Enjoy the chapter. You start by opening the menu first, OK? (Yumir) I see, then? (Tobi) Then you send this idea like buwahand it appears like pon in your equipment section. When you want to unequip it you go fuwah (Yumir) ??? (Tobi) Friday, 8:30 pm, somewhere in Heathrow village inside TB. When Tobi asked what happened with the reward from the event, the situation became like this. Since I didnt have my part-time job today, Yumir, me then Tobi logged earlier than usual in that order. Since we found out everything about the event reward Heros soul while Tobi wasnt here, we ended up telling him like this. Since Yumirs explanation was made up of intuitive movements and sound effects, Tobi furrowed his eyebrows. H-Hind-donohelp (Tobi) Basically she means this. The aura doesnt have any substance. So, you open the equipment menu and thinkI want the aura! Then, after wishing for it you become able to equip it (Hind) Oh, ooohhhh.! (Tobi) With my words, Tobi finally seemed to understand it. Unleashing the aura works the same way, you know? You get motivated! Then it comes out like kyun! Then if you put even more fighting spirit into it, it goes baribari and- (Yumir) Seems like its making practical use of the system that reads your emotional brain waves in the VR gear. Something like the consciousness of the player, the point isthe more you get into it during battle, the flashier the effect is. This accessory sure is packed with a high level of technology. It doesnt change that its useless as a piece of gear though (Hind) Oh, it sure is amazing (Tobi) Right!? (Yumir) Hind-donos super translation that is (Tobi) Ridiculous! Why dont you get the wonderfulness of this accessory!? (Yumir) Your reaction is what surprises me! It would be weirder if I understood it! (Tobi) Well, its probably not surprising that he doesnt get her since he hasnt known her for as long as I have. We met Tobi during middle school after all. By the way, Hind. What about your sister? Isnt she quite late today? (Yumir) Ah, she has the national tests on Sunday. She said she wouldnt log in until thats over (Hind) I believe she should be in her room studying right now. Should I bring her some cocoa later? Fuun. Even though shes already first nationwide, why is she even studying more at this point? (Yumir) From the point of view of someone that barely manages to not get a failing mark, shes like a divine being. By the way, does Riizu-dono have any objectives? Like going to a famous school? (Tobi) Dont know, Im not sure. Its just that, she did say something about wanting to get a job that could support me in the future at least When I heard that, I didnt know if I should have felt happy, sad or if she didnt think she could rely on me (Hind) Im saving up my part-time job earnings so I can pay for Rises university tuition fees though Just for the record, this is a secret between me and mom. Its just that, the person herself is trying to get a scholarship with her achievements, or at least I think thats the scenario shes hoping for. However, me and mom are hoping she relied a bit more on us. While I was thinking that, the 2 people in front of me had quite the complex expression on them. Whats wrong? Wataru, be careful. No, ratherItll be me whos going to be careful. Ill definitely keep you safe! (Yumir) Wacchi, be careful to not get confined somewhere Im getting a bit scared of Rise-chan. Shes either extremely earnest or very persistent (Tobi) What are you guys talking about? (Hind) What are you thinking someone elses sister is? She might be scary sometimes and play pranks but shes fundamentally a gentle girl, OK? E-Excuse me! Oh? While we were chatting, a girl that looked like a middle schooler talked to us. From her line of sight, she probably wanted to talk to Yumir. Me? Hind, how should I reply in this case? Why are you talking to us? is it OK if I ask her like that? (Yumir) Just listen to her like normalyoull come off as a shameless person, you know? If you speak like that (Hind) I see. What business do you have with me, young girl! (Yumir) Hii Without any real bad intentions, Yumir assaulted the female player with her loud voice! As a result, the girl shrunk. Dont be like that. Just talk to her normally (Hind) Even if you talked like I am, theyd be able to hear just fine you know? (Tobi) I dont know what you are trying to say here. That mask makes you look extremely suspicious to begin with. On the contrary, theyd be vigilant about you (Hind) Umu, like that you end up taking the initiative in the conversation. Vulgar, as expected of a filthy ninja (Yumir) So mean! Even though I was only trying to turn around the conversation because we were getting nowhere!? (Tobi) Fu, fufufuah, Im sorry From that reaction, I could tell that this girl was the honest type. The other girl by her side that I failed to notice, started to explain. Im sorry. This girl is a knightbut she started admiring Yumir-sans aggressive style after watching that video. We just found you by chance while we were walking around and blood rushed to her head thinking it was destiny W-wait, Sai-chan!? Ah, Im called Cineraria. This girl is called Licoris. The one over here that looks sleepy is Siesta (Cineraria) Good eveningfuwahh (Siesta) I know this might be rude of us, but we have a request. Its fine if its just for a little bit, Id like Yumir-san to show her fighting style to Licoris but- (Cineraria) Sure! (Yumir) Really!? Is it really OK to give us an immediate reply!? (Licoris) T-Thank you very much! I really appreciate it! (Cineraria) Due to the unforeseen reply, even the girl that had her eyes narrowed in sleepiness looked surprised. Shes like this after alljust give up. You dont mind, right? Hind (Yumir) Ah, go ahead (Hind) Hmm? You are not coming with us? (Yumir) To begin with, I was thinking about splitting up tonight so I could go sell that greatsword and craft some elven ears. Tobi, what do you plan to do? (Hind) Im also interested in the trading BBS and the market. Since we have reached level cap, Ill give preference to information gathering tonight. Ill go with you, Hind-dono (Tobi) There you have it. Once you are done, send us a mail (Hind) Got it! (Yumir) Yumir was the first one to stand up and start walking, the three of them bowed and thanked us. Since the three of them seem to know their manners, I believe theres nothing for me to worry about. Immediately after the four of them tried to exit to the field Ah, wait a moment. Whos the healer in this party? (Hind) Fuwahthat would be me sir (Siesta) While yawning, the girl that looked sleepy raised her hand. Due to me saying that, they all turned their heads and stood still, ehwas she called Siesta-chan? Siesta-chan urged the rest of them to go ahead. Ah, go ahead first. Ill catch up soon enoughprobably. So, what did you want, senpai? (Siesta) Ill give you some healing items. Mainly holy water (Hind) Eh? Why? Ah, oh I get it. Its true that Im a balanced type Shinto priest and Im unable to resurrect. However, is it OK? To receive a gift like this without giving anything in return (Siesta) Its fine. If you end up being unable to resurrect them because of Yumir, the mood will turn sourI believe itll place a burden on you, probably (Hind) Hnu. So Yumir-san is that type as expecteda wild boar? (Siesta) Right on the money. She relies on Hind-donos support after allI believe a normal healer wouldnt be able to support her properly (Tobi) I seeI have more of an interest in you than Yumir-san thoughif its OK with you, can we exchange friend requests? Can we? (Siesta) Hmm? I dont mindyou are quite peculiar (Hind) They do tell me that oftenor maybe not (Siesta) After receiving the holy water and exchanging friend requests, Siesta-chan leisurely pursued the other three. Is she really going to be able to catch up to them at that speed? Oh wellbut she sure was a girl that you couldnt figure out what was was going through her head Thats no good, Hind-dono (Tobi) Ah? What are you talking about? (Hind) No matter how grown up she looks, that would be a crime! No matter how you look at her, shes a middle schooler! (Tobi) What do you even mean? Even if she said she had interest in me, it was obvious that it was not the type of interest in the opposite sex. More importantly, where were you even looking at when you said that her growth was good? Isnt because you have those indecent and perverted thoughts that girls avoid you? (Hind) (Tobi) S-Sorry. I said too much. Ill apologize so dont cry silently like that! (Hind) She didnt exchange friend requests with Tobibut thats probably because she noticed Tobi staring at her chest that didnt match her age. Theyll feel uncomfortable if they notice you doing that so thats no good, I even told him a long time ago. The sense of distance between girls and Tsukane-kun is pretty bad! That was the kind of conversation I had with Saitou-san at some point. Thats why I think hes not popular even though he has a handsome faceits such a waste. Chapter 30 There was a silly mistake last chapter, Tobi meant that since they raised the level cap hed take his time that day to do some information gathering regarding that. The other one is about the trading BBS. At first I thought it was just a digital board where people would trade stuff, but seems like theres also a physical board inside the game. It still works as a digital menu so I believe theres no problems with calling it a BBS. This was because the word used for it can mean both things. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. The trading bulletin board was relatively empty. Players have started to disappear from Heathrow townthe peak was probably around the final stage of the turtle event. At the time, we were busy going around the fields so it wasnt really inconvenient for us, but when we had to use the facilities in the town it was crowded to the point we were jostling against each other. They had raised the level cap to 40 now, since the turtle gear you obtained from the event was rather good, the players embarked from Heathrow town. How is it? Tobi (Hind) Theres nonemeteo type first-rate gear that is (Tobi) Well, thats troubling. I wont be able to know the market price like this (Hind) The other weapons cost about 3-4 times that of a fine-quality one when they are first-rate. However, the meteo type fine-quality are already very expensive! (Tobi) They are generally about 50.000G after all. If we just applied the formula the others use it would be around 150.000G, who would buy that (Hind) Just for the record, if all 4 of us gathered all our money, it would amount to around 30.000G. Its enough to buy plenty of lower grade healing items from shops, but now that they have implemented a hunger system, well have to buy ingredients to cook. The other players, especially the ones that just focus on fighting, probably wont see any difference though The crafters would use their own weapons too. Shall we just register it? It might get sold somehow (Hind) Wed want to sell it as soon as possible though. In online games, when some time passes, the performance of gear does get outmatched. Now that they have raised the level cap, the scope of monsters we can beat has widened after all (Tobi) Thats truein that case, lets gradually lower the price. Though it takes 100G each time we register it (Hind) Its better than not taking this chance to sell it. Ah, you can leave a comment, so its fine if you add a brief comment (Tobi) Nuuin that case, something simple (Hind) Its the weapon that took 1st place in the rankingslike that. Its quite plain, but theres a limit of characters you can type so it should be fine. After that, we both checked the market price for gear and items each one of us was interested in. Oh right, Tobi. Who did you buy the ninja gear you have from? You are the clumsy type, so you probably didnt craft them on your own? (Hind) Ah, theres a crafter called Masamune-san that specializes in Japanese style equipment. I havent really met him personally butlook, theres another set today (Tobi) There were papers stuck on the bulletin board written in characters I couldnt read, once a player gets close enough to read them, a menu opens. I looked at the menu that was floating close to Tobis hand, gear with their names written in kanji were lined up in it. The seller section was as Tobi had said, they all read Masamune. Oh? Spear and katana and samurai type armor for heavy warriors, even bows and hakama for archers, theres quite a lot. NaginataI see, he even sells Kanabos. Id like to meet him (Hind) Hind-dono, you cant make japanese stuff? (Tobi) Katanas especially, they use different techniques from western swords after allIll gradually make them as I study about them. I do have the motivation to make them (Hind) In that case, Ill make a request. If it was possible, Id like to use a ninjaish Makibishi along with bo-hiyas (Tobi) That would be interesting. Ill think about it (Hind) Ohh, thank you! As expected of Wacchi, you sure get me! (Tobi) Hey, what did I say about using our real na-wait, its a nickname so its fine. It doesnt really give away my real name anyway (Hind) Just as I had previously experienced, throwable items are single use, Id like to make something with a high level of effectiveness if possible. If the game allows it, something like coating the Makibishi in poison, or smokebomb type bo-hiyas to block their field of vision. Im getting a good image of what I want to make. I should put in some effort and think about crafting them. While we kept turning over the pages checking the market price of the items, a huge figure appeared behind us. Is it another player? If we are bothering him, lets move Hah, hah, I found you! A hand was placed on my shoulder and when I turned around, a big man stood there out of breath. Very muscular and with a face full of wounds, tea colored hair and he gave the impression of being a very stern person. He was really intense and I noticed how Tobis face had stiffened. I apologize for surprising youcould you hear me out for a bit? He was an honest man contrary to his appearance, seems like he has something to talk about with us. We moved a bit away from the bulletin board, we moved to a place where we wouldnt bother the other players to hear him out. The feeling of oppression lasted just a moment, I thought we were going to get PKdoh wait, we cant get attacked inside a town. Besides, with the level cap being raised, PKing has been disabled in Donderry forest and Homa plains. This was a measure to protect the beginnerswait, Im going off topic here. I have to think about how to deal with this macho man with his bulging muscles. My name is Mercenary Albert butdo you recognize this name? (Albert) I exchanged looks with Tobi. Well, that was a name that we were curious about recently after all So it was this guy. The events 2ndcough cough! You are the person that was in first place throughout the event, right? (Tobi) * Tobi switches to a more formal tone to address the man No, theres no need to be so considerate. Its true Im the Albert that lost to you and got 2nd place. It was my utter defeat. It was an excellent tactic (Albert) I see. From the way you said that, I assume you didnt come here to get revengebut what do you want to talk about? (Hind) Ill get straight to the point. I was charmed by the sword that girl used in the video. Sell me that greatsword! (Albert) We got more details from him, he didnt really participate in the event to obtain the aura. He was as his name implied inside the game, a mercenaryseems like he plans to roleplay that and join parties in exchange for money. For the sake of advertising himself, he challenged the event to make a big name for himself. Thats niceroleplaying as a mercenary. If you are really skilled, you would be able to help with really difficult quests (Tobi) Or something like asking him to come when theres an event that needs a large amount of people? It does fit the image of the world of TB after allthere sure are quite a lot of people with different play-styles (Hind) Its like that. This might be a bit off-topic, but Im a civil servant in real life (Albert) Was that to earn our trust? He revealed his real life occupation to us. Wait, hes a civil servant with that appearance!? You are kidding! I thought he would work in something related to sports with that appearancelike rugby, or at least something like a gym coach. C-Civil servantyou say? (Tobi) Im in charge of the counter in the city halls welfare servicesAh, Ill say this, but these wounds on my body and body are part of my avatar. My way of speaking is usually polite toowould you rather I spoke that way with you? (Albert) N-No, its fine! It might be rude of me to say this, but it doesnt really match your imagehaha (Hind) My hobbies had been games and weight training. They are both really good to relieve my stress from workoh, sorry. I ended up talking about trivial things about myself (Albert) The money he offered was 130.000G. Its lower than the amount registered in the bulletin board, but this is genuinely all he owns. He coincidentally found it in the bulletin board and hurried up to try and make a direct transaction before anyone managed to buy it, he probably came here to search for us. Anyway, I was planning to gradually lower the price if it didnt sell, the amount he showed is a big amount and well sell it for sure this way. I cancelled the registration in the bulletin board, and sold the meteo greatsword to Albert-san. After that, we went to a field and he displayed himself trying out the weapon but Uoh, thats really impressivehis muscles are throbbingyou can even hear the sounds of the slashes from here (Hind) So cool! Can I call you aniki!? (Tobi) I dont mind. However, this is a splendid swordI could get used to this weight. I really appreciate it! Hind, Tobi! There! (Albert) With the vigorous display of the 40kg greatsword due to the weight correction of the heavy warrior stats, Tobi was moved. In the end, they even exchanged friend requestswait, are you fine with that? Tobi Anyway, we have handed the greatsword we used in the event to the heavy warrior Mercenary Albert. Chapter 31 Before we get into the chapter Id like to ask about something. SoIve been noticing that whenever I reply to the messages from the contact me section of the blog, for some reason I dont seem to get a reply back from the people I message. So Ive been wondering if for some reason, the email address that come along with the automated system are wrong or something. I dont know if the person that sent me a message around a week ago will read this but I did try to send a reply back then and it seems to have failed to reach him. I was wondering if theres anyone out there that would help test it in the comment section just in case. Just 1 would be enough, or if the person that messaged me read this, he could also give me another way to contact them or give me the email so I can check if it was wrong in any way. Anyway, enjoy the chapters. In a corner of Altrowa Village, under the watchtower we had grown accustomed to. The rubber trees only grow in this vicinity so we returned to the village that acted as the starting point. Alright, this should be enough (Hind) This was quite some workare there five types in total? These elven ears that is (Tobi) In front of us were several metal molds with pigments and a mixture of latex poured onto them. Currently, I was removing the burrs and with that, they would be done. Just like Tobi had said, this time I had made 5 types of them. The rubber like material had solidified in different colors and as I had expected, I was a bit uneasy about the colors but managed to make them as I had imagined. For the time being, I had taken notes about the ratio of the combinations, so its possible to make them again next time. Light complexion?flesh colored?light brown?dark brown?swarthy, these 5. So, Tobi. Can you try these on? (Hind) Eh, Eeehh!? (Tobi) The colors were made by intuition, so I want to try them out and see if they feel out of place. Here, try these flesh colored ones (Hind) G-Guess I have no choice (Tobi) With an annoyed expression, Tobi removed his hood. He put on the ears and faced me so I could see them. How do they look? (Tobi) Ah. They fit you so well that you could start calling yourself an elf if you went and dyed your hair blonde right nowtsk (Hind) Hey, did you just click your tongue? You did, right? (Tobi) The colorwell, they do look a bit out of place but its still within the acceptable range. Thanks for your cooperation (Hind) O-Oh (Tobi) Tobi returned the ears and I placed them in my inventory. I finished cleaning up the tools that were spread out and we both stood up and removed the dust on us. While we moved, we talked about if I would continue making ears or not. If there are worries about the color, you could make them to order. As one would expect, everyone has their own preferences (Tobi) You are right. As a very fussy person, if they showed me a somewhat high retainer fee Id think about itbut it would be a bit bothersome (Tobi) Its the kind of thing you could sell in large quantities if the quality was fixed after allin any case, you cant really mass produce them. Though, I dont think you have to worry if theyd be in demand or not (Tobi) Well then, lets freeze the production of rubber related products for now. There are no competitors solets register the ones I crafted with a relatively high price (Hind) Understood (Tobi) It would be nice if the people that said they wanted to buy elven ears in the BBS bought them. Well, its not like it bothers me. If we manage to sell all of these and we include the funds from selling the sword, we probably wont have to worry about money for a while. The trading BBS is shared among all villages and towns, so I put them up for 5.000G in Altrowas BBS. I made 10 of each color so if they all sell that would be 250.000G, theres a 10% transaction fee in the BBS so the total income would be 225.000G. That being said, this is just my optimistic calculation. Tobi and Yumir recommended it to me and I made my decision after seeing the reaction in the BBS, I dont know if theyll sell or not. Since we were done with our business, both of us returned to Heathrow town. Moving through this field is quite tiresomeeven if we can ignore the monsters (Hind) Makes you want to have some sort of vehicle. There are rumors that theres a place with wild horses (Tobi) You mean, to catch them and train them? That does sound like youd break some bon-oh? (Hind) A *piron* sound echoed in my head, telling me I had received an e-mail. I signaled Tobi to stop with my hand and opened my menu to check it Is it from Yumir-dono? (Tobi) No, seems like its from someone elseHerrschaft? (Hind) Sender:Herrschaft? Subject: Ill return the favor I said Id return one day! Text: come to the Entrance to Dram mountain located on the east of Heathrow right now! Eh. On top of that commanding tone, she called me without even asking about my circumstances right now. How should I reply to this? While I was feeling perplexed, another email reached me. Sender: Walter Subject: Regarding that email ojou-sama sent. Text: E-Eh, good evening Hind-san! I believe ojou-sama sent you quite the rude email, that just the way she thinks! Please, forgive her! R-Regarding that email, if circumstances allow it, wed like to take a quest together. The reward is a Skill point booke-eh, please! I said if circumstances allow it butif you dont come, ojou-samas mood wille-eh, Im very sorry! Please come. I just saw quite the sob story! Well, I know that the person herself doesnt have any ill-will butsince the end of the sentence was cut, it was probably because Herrschaft saw her typing the email. Its a sentence where Walters fears and worries come to your mind. Oh wellshall I go? I dont have any reason to refuse and Yumir hasnt contacted me yet. What happened? You sighed after making all sorts of faces (Tobi) To sum it up, its an invitation for a questTobi, are you coming too? (Hind) Of course! By the way, just for the record. Who are the players that invited you? (Tobi) 2 beautiful girls (Hind) Yahooooo! (Tobi) If you are going to act like that, Im leaving you behind (Hind) Wait! Ill calm down right now! Hah, hah, hah, (Tobi) Like that, we went through Heathrow town. I cooked something in a hurry to deal with the hunger system and we headed to the meetup point. Since we already went through the east of Heathrow during the event to mine iron ore, we didnt have issues reaching the place. The people we are supposed to meetoh, there they are. However, they sure stand outenough for me to see them from this far away, that blond hair. They are perfect ringlets today too. Walter was standing a bit behind her and looked the same as last time we met. Oh, its true that both of them are beautifulthat short haired girl especially. I like that ephemeral aura (Tobi) Hey, stop making that face already. I can tell. You are going to end up like that time with Siesta-chan (Hind) Ooops, no good (Tobi) Is this guy going to be OK? We approached them like that and when I called them, Herrschaft, who had her arms folded, approached me with a daring smile. You did well to come here, Hind. As promised, today Ill fully return theoh? Who is that suspicious (Herrschaft) Ah, she really said it. Thats why I told you to remove your disguise (Hind) Muu, ninjas shouldnt show their faces that (Tobi) Yeah yeah, I get it. Herrschaft, Walter, its been a while. This is my friend Tobi (Hind) Its a pleasure to meet you! My name is Tobi (Tobi) Im Herrschaft. Its a pleasure (Herrschaft) I-Im Walternice to meet you (Walter) When they finished introducing themselves, we heard the details of the quest. Im counting on you today. By the way, is there a limit in the number of people that can take the quest? (Hind) Walter (Herrschaft) Y-Yes! (Walter) When she was called by Herrschaft, Walter hurriedly opened her menu and showed the details of the ongoing quest to Herrschaft. Seeing that attitude of Walter that made it seems like it was natural for her to serve Herrschaft, I noticed Tobi knitting his eyebrows. By any chance, has he started supporting Walter because shes to his tastes? Its exactly 4 people. Each person will get the reward. You are quite lucky, masked person (Herrschaft) Thats much appreciated. Thank you, Ringlets-dono (Tobi) Whats with that way of calling me? (Herrschaft) Answer gratitude with gratitude. Im just returning impoliteness with impoliteness? (Tobi) You are quite the rude fellow! (Herrschaft) That goes for both of us! (Tobi) With both of them starting to fight, Walter and I hurriedly went in to stop them. Are these 2 not compatible by any chance? No, I guess Walter is indirectly the cause. This has become quite troublesome Chapter 32 And yeah, for those that still havent caught on, hes male. Thus, in order to not leave any grudges behind, both of them decided to have a duel. Herrschaft seems to be a fire and wind type mage, I thought it would be hard for her to duel a vanguard but There are no problems! (Herrschaft) With that being said, she accepted the duel. Different from PKing, duels have no effect whenever you win or lose. Theres no death penalty even if you lose, youll just recover your health to full like it was before the duel started. However, the battle count is carved in your status, so for those that hate to lose, theyd look at that numerical value with bitter eyes. It was announced that there would be an arena and PvP ranks, its unrelated to whats going on right now, but it seems that the rank will change depending on your wins and loses once its implemented. A circle formed so other players wouldnt be able to get in their way, inside that circle, Tobi and Herrschaft were facing each other. If I win, youll refer to me with my player name from now on! (Herrschaft) If I win, youll treat Walter-dono more gently! Your attitude is quite intolerable! (Tobi) Both of their demands are so modestdo they really have to fight? In any case, theres no choice but for them to fight now. Both of them took out their weapons. I looked at the battle next to Walter. Herrschafts weapon is a whip, huh? Shes using something unusual (Hind) Ojou-sama looked it up because she had grown accustomed to the whips used in horse-riding. Thus, she chose mage because they can equip whips (Walter) Hmm.hmm? I believe that the whips used in horse-riding and the long whips used as a weapon are quite different though? (Hind) E-Even if you ask me that (Walter) I huhI heard that when Walter first introduced herself, to think it was like that. It seems like there are girls that use boku in the world, but this smooth body and that face without any make upno, no way, right? Shes this cute after all, Im just thinking too deeply into it. L-Look, Hind-san. Shes actually been able to use it like that (Walter) You are right, shes going from the front. However, that Tobi, he cant read the trajectory of the whip at allhes eating lots of hits. His Cicada technique has already vanished (Hind) The Cicada technique would usually be a technique that leaves a substitute with clothes, but in TB its a technique that lets a substitute take 1 hit for you no matter how high the damage is. Using this, light warriors have some insurance in battle even with their low defenselosing that already means thathes currently at a disadvantage. Tobis remaining HP is about half, Herrschaft is uninjured by using the reach of her weapon to her advantage. Oh, Tobi managed to get in. Guess its turning into a proper fight now (Hind) Ojou-sama, look out! (Walter) By purposefully twining the whip around one of his dual blades, he made a quick strike with that gap. Tobi is probably confident that he won. The strike that aimed at her neck made you think thatit would take away all of Herrschafts HP. However, the damage stopped at 10% of her HP. Tobi showed surprise. Herrschafts hand which was pierced deeply by the tanto languidly fell down and she smiled. Got you! (Herrschaft) !! (Tobi) She quietly threw away the whip in her other hand and shot the chantless magic Fire ball into his stomach over and over. Tobis slender figure rose to the air when it came in contact with the magic. Nuwah..!!! (Tobi) Sadly, Tobi was fried leaving no traces behindwell not really, but smoke was coming out of his body. The duel ended with Herrschafts victory and the battle field disappeared. Eh? Both of you are master and servant inreal life? (Tobi) Once they both cooled their heads, we heard about the relationship between Herrschaft and Walter without any troubles. Hearing that, it seems like Herrschaft is really a wealthy ojou-sama. That appearance wasnt role-play, huh? Seems like theres been a misunderstanding, huh? I dont particularly plan to treat Walter badly, you know? (Herrschaft) E-Eh, Tobi-san. I appreciate your feelingsI apologize, I didnt explain properly. This is in some way, a job for me (Walter) So it was just me jumping into conclusions, huh?Im sorry! (Tobi) Towards Tobi, who had his head lowered, Herrschaft showed a splendid smile and said this. If you beg for forgiveness from the bottom of your heart, you should lie down with your head touching the ground! (Herrschaft) Hey (Tobi) Im joking. I have a big heart, Ill forgive you as a special case (Herrschaft) Shes saying that she has a big heart herself (Hind) Shes ojou-sama after allshes that type of person. Im sorry about that (Walter) Let me say it again, Im counting on you, Herrschaft-dono (Tobi) Yes, best regards, Tobi (Herrschaft) Since they have reconciled, the party finally started climbing the Dram mountain. Dram mountain is whats called a mine site, cabins are scattered throughout the place. We climbed with the quest site as our goal. The path was quite rough but well maintained, its nice that its easy to walk here. However, Herrschaft, you are quite considerate. Im in dire need of skill points. Im glad that I can increase them by even 1 or 2 points (Hind) Its because you took such an unreasonable skill. I saw that video too you know? (Herrschaft) After watching that video and the BBS, ojou-sama shouted this. This is it! like that. That she would finally be able to repay Hind-san and she happily (Walter) Walter, if you say too much, Ill sew your mouth you know? (Herrschaft) I-Im very sorryIll keep quiet (Walter) B-By the way, who did you get this quest from? I heard a skill point book was a reward for a quest that NPCs you had high likability gave? (Tobi) I was asking myself the same question. The mayors in each place do give generic quests that anyone can take, but quest that give a Skill point book are a rare case. In our case, it was only that quest where we had to escort Claris-san. Even in the BBS Skill point books are so rare that people even doubt that they really exist. The quest this time is from Conrad, the mayor of Heathrow town. He took an interest in us as adventurers when we handed smuggling officials to them (Herrschaft) Corrupted officials? So the NPCs in TB even do that kind of actions. Eh (Hind) They the type of NPCs we wouldnt get to meet because of the way we play. To begin with, let alone government officials, we havent even met the mayors yet. Was that by chance? Or (Tobi) There was a house in Heathrow town where no NPCs lived and its use was unclear. Ojou-sama found that strange and (Walter) Kept watch on it? Dont tell me, throughout the whole day? (Tobi) I didnt do something that inefficient. I gathered information from the NPCs around that area, for about a week inside the game, and settled it at night when I felt the presence of people inside. When I went in at that time- (Herrschaft) They were dealing with suspicious goods. Its something that we wouldnt be able to imagine when we are playing the same game (Hind) Be it in real life or games, the evil-doers ecology doesnt change that much. They cant deceive these eyes of mine! (Herrschaft) Herrschaft hit her chest with one hand and stood still with a triumphant look. Praise me! I felt that kind of mood in the air, the three of us started to clap. When we did so, she started to look more proud of herself. This is going through my head though, this straightforward impressiondoesnt it remind me of someone I meet every day? Is it just me? So, whats the goal of this quest? We havent heard yet right? (Hind) The quest this time isbandit extermination! (Herrschaft) Chapter 33 - Regarding the offense and defense in Dram mountain Sorry about the lack of activity when it comes to releases. At first I wasnt going to release this chapter until I have reached a decision but since its taking far longer than expected, I decided to use this release to give you an update on the situation. Like my previous post stated, things have changed and Im currently unable to provide releases for free anymore. This is mostly because of real life events. This doesnt mean that I have given up on continuing to translate my series, so they are technically still not dropped. Ive personally been contacting groups lately to see if I can somehow get income from my releases while still keeping my release style, which means to release all my chapters to the public without hiding them behind paywalls and stuff like that. What would this mean if I do find a group to take me in and have favorable terms? HmmI guess it would mean that Ill be able to release more frequently again. Since speed would be quite the important factor VRMMO would probably take a priority seat just because its personally easier and faster to translate than Bu ni Mi (not that I have been able to translate much of that these days). That is to say, this pretty much means that whether I can continue translating as I am will depend mostly on the support of the readers. Anyway, I guess I should leave it at that for now, Ill make a proper post explaining things once all options are laid out and I reach a decision, back to the chapter at hand. While I did say Walter is really a guy, Hind currently doesnt know that for sure yet. Since in Japanese they can talk about this without specifying genders, it makes it a bit messy to translate. This is the reason you see me jumping from referring to him as a he and a she, I just try to adapt to the current situation until the gender is revealed and I can finally just refer to him as a he. That will be all for now, enjoy the chapter. About 50 bandits have settled down in the mine, in game terms, this happened around 1 month ago. Although an attack squad was sent to deal with them, they skillfully escaped from them. They were driven away from the mountain that one time, but after some time passed, they gathered there again. Making this Dram mountain their headquarters, they stole goods from people like merchants in the highways. So if we want to arrest them all in one sweep, we have to seal their escape route, right? (Hind) The latter will be difficult. When they drove them away that time they had sealed all the exits, but it seems like those bandits had remodeled the mines on their own (Herrschaft) Since they have returned, that means that theres a chance that they made more escape routes (Hind) This is quite the difficult task, huh? (Tobi) This quest doesnt make you think we can do it with 4 peoplewe just dont have enough people for it (Walter) Since we climbed around 50% of the mountain, we entered a small cabin in the vicinity to rest. There were some mining tools scattered throughout the small cabin but there was nothing else. We secured a space in a corner and sat down. After that, I took out the bread and jam I prepared beforehand. Once your hunger gauge reaches 0 your HP will begin to slowly decrease, you have to be careful about that. We stopped talking about the bandits for now and the conversation shifted to the food. Im sorry. It was so sudden that I could only prepare something like this (Hind) No, I really appreciate it. You sure bother with all the small detailsunlike Walter (Herrschaft) Uuu (Walter) Dont bully her that much. Its the first time you have logged since the update, right? It cant be helped if she didnt know about the hunger system (Hind) Since Herrschaft and Walter didnt know about the contents of the update they didnt prepare any food. I had prepared a large amount of bread so theres probably enough for us to eat on the way back too. Following that, Walters face broke out into a smile. Hind-san! Such kindness (Walter) A-Ahahem! Hind-dono, is this jam the one you made in a hurry before? (Tobi) Thats right. Its raspberry jam. They become sticky after you boil them for 3 minutes since its a game (Hind) You really manage to gather ingredients without me knowing even though we are playing together. Did you pick them up in the field? (Tobi) I saw them and picked them up. I think they are too good to be things that can be picked up for free. Would that make me small-minded? (Hind) Oh, I dont think thats a bad thing. If you are met with a situation where you can obtain something you can use immediately, I believe you should in fact just pick them up (Herrschaft) Because of Herrschafts unexpected words, I opened my eyes wide. Since she said she was a genuine ojou-sama I thought she would ridicule this kind of plebeian feelings. What are you getting surprised for? Those who have money are fundamentally stingy. We wont think it twice when its necessary to invest, its just that we are easily misunderstood (Herrschaft) That way of thinking is nice. So it means to economize whenever you can right? (Hind) He found a kindred spirit huh? Makes me jealous (Tobi) This is the first time Ive seen ojou-sama enjoy talking to someone else other than family. Hind-san is amazing (Walter) Nuh!? (Tobi) Once I opened the lid of the jar, the sweet fragrance of raspberries spread throughout the cabin. I spread it over the Rye bread I had cut and gave each member 2 pieces. As one would expect from meal time, Tobi had removed his hood, stored it in his inventory and took a bite. ! This jam is delicious. It has a refreshing aroma and sourness, and it goes well with its moderate sweetness (Herrschaft) I prepared it in a simple way with some honey. I didnt have any time to taste test it, but if it suits ojou-samas taste it should be fine (Hind) Oh my, thats a bad way to put it. If we had black tea here, location aside, it would make for a splendid tea time (Herrschaft) Dont be that unreasonable. Now that you said that, I still havent seen black tea leaves inside the game. They might not exist in the vicinity (Hind) Is that so? Ojou-sama likes black tea. If food is needed inside the game, I would like to prepare some for her if it was possible (Walter) EhHerrschaft, do you like black tea that much? (Hind) You could say that you could imagine black tea flowing through me the same way blood does, I drink it because I like it (Herrschaft) Thats kind of amazingjust be careful of caffeine addiction (Hind) However, I havent seen tea appear in the trading BBS. Speaking of caffeine, theres no coffee either I believe that this situation was made so players circulate them somehow. In real life, the major country of origin of black tea areIndia, Sri Lanka, Kenya, China and Indonesia, it should be these 5. I think it would be fine to search for places that look similar to those places. In Europe, England in particular, the culture of drinking black tea came in the 18th century so (Hind) Since this game is set in the European middle ages, you mean that they havent been imported yet? No way (Walter) Walter-dono, Ill help you so dont feel so down (Tobi) T-Thank you very much, Tobi-san. However, Hinds-san sure knows about a lot of thingsI really admire that! (Walter) Nunuh!? (Tobi) Hey, why have been acting like that for quite a while? Why are you glaring at me? (Hind) Its nothing. No real reason? (Tobi) After eating a light meal to satisfy our hunger, we proceeded to finally talk seriously about how wed exterminate the bandits. We polished our plan while looking at the map of the tunnels provided by the mayor. The map was from before the tunnels were remodeled, but the big spaces where people could live in were limited. Even if they made new small tunnels, that fact wouldnt change. In the end, theres only one plan with our current situation. We are only 4 people after all (Hind) Thats true (Herrschaft) Eh? What would that be? (Walter) Take their leader by surprise and capture him Herscha and my voice agreed at the same time. It was a bit embarrassing. So both of you think that they are not an unorganized group, but they instead move as a group with their leader at the center? (Walter) Thinking about how they escaped splendidly last time (Hind) Theres no doubt about it. Their leader seems to be somewhat smart (Herrschaft) It does seem like if we capture the leader, theyll later scatter and wont pose a threat. I doubt even the mayor would expect for 4 people to annihilate all of them without letting anyone escape. I checked the conditions of the quest and it said Eliminate the threat of the bandit group so there shouldnt be any problems. Next up should be where said leader is lurking around but Here! (Herrschaft) I think hes over here (Hind) This was the first time that our opinions differed. The point in the map Herscha pointed at was towards the middle where it would be easy to exit through various tunnels. On the contrary, the place I pointed was at the end of the tunnelsbasically the opposite direction of where we were climbing right now. I seeso you believe their leader has that kind of personality (Herrschaft) Well yeah. I think you are thinking too highly of their leader (Hind) In that case, should we split in 2 groups? I cant discard both possibilities after all (Herrschaft) I agree. In reality, we dont have enough information to be sure (Hind) Ehyour conversation is too complicated and I cant follow (Walter) Id prefer if you could explain it in a way we could understand (Tobi) Ah, Ill explain on the way. So, how are we going to divide the groups (Hind) First off, both Herrscha and I are rear-guards, and incidentally, we have differing opinions so we are going our own ways. Anyway, there are limits to coordinated actions if both people are rear-guards. When I asked him, Walter said that his job was martial artist, so there wont be any issues with a balance between rearguards and vanguards. It was a valuable chance to interchange, so I proposed switching partners. Herscha and Walter didnt have any issues with it, so I ended up going with Walter and Tobi would go with Herscha. After all, Im personally quite curious about something regarding Walter L-Looking forward to working with you! Hind-san! (Walter) Yup, Im counting on you. Dont feel pressured, OK? Lets take it easy (Hind) Y-Yes! (Walter) So, Tobi. Can I have a moment? (Hind) Hmm? What is it? (Tobi) Lets talk outside the cabinboth of you, wait here for a moment. Well be right back (Hind) For the time being, I stepped outside the cabin with Tobi. We took an appropriate distance and I opened my mouth once we reached a spot where they wouldnt be able to hear us. There would be no problems if it was just me thinking too much about it, but I wanted to be prepared if it was really the case. Tobi didnt really question me for taking him there, but he grumbled while he had his arms crossed behind his head. If it was possible Id have wanted to go with Walter-dono (Tobi) This is regarding that Walter. Im thinking thatthere might be a possibility that hes really a guy (Hind) Hah? (Tobi) The face Tobi made once he heard my words was pretty idiotic. Then, he made a face as if he was saying What is this guy even saying? and that kind of irritated me. Should I punch him? Well, you seeI dont really mind if its just my misunderstanding. That would just keep you happy after all (Hind) I dont believe it! I dont! However, Wacchi intuition is good so that makes it scary! Stop! N-Now that you said that, hes wearing a butler uniform instead of maid clothes (Tobi) Its not a fact yet. Ill try to check by indirectly asking him questions while we go togetherhowever, you should prepare yourself in case its true so you are not shocked when it comes to light. The truth is, if I make a mistake in the way I ask her it would be quite the rude thing to ask. On the other hand, there wouldnt be any issues if it just ends with me being hated, right? (Hind) WacchiI, Im glad that Im your friend! Im sorry for glaring at you! (Tobi) Stop that. With that being said, do your best on your end. From the feeling Herscha gave, I believe shes the emotional type. Dont be reckless out there (Hind) Fumu. Like Yumir-dono? (Tobi) Yup, probably about the same? Thats just the feeling I got. Well then, Im counting on you (Hind) After that, we returned to the cabin, prepared our stuff and came out of the cabin together this time. We continued climbing the mountain for the time being and separated once we saw the entrance to the tunnel in the distance. Each one of us went our way with our pairs. Chapter 34 - Regarding the offense and defense in Dram mountain Well then, how should I deal with this? Though, Im not talking about the bandits here. To reach the place we are aiming at, we need to take a circuitous path compared to Herscha, itll take some time to get there. Until we reach that place, we only have to ignore the monsters and keep walking. The problem is the small back in front of meIm talking about Walter, walking while his smooth shoulder-length hair was swinging around. Tobi does think that Walters appearance is to his liking, so if after being on good terms he finds out hes a guyI can see that turning into quite the pitiful situation. As his friend, I cant bear to see that happen. In order to prevent that, Im acting like a spy here. First off, I should think of what options I have. First option, suddenly attacking him from the back and caress his body. Yup, no good. If Walter turned out to be a girl, Id be banned for harassing. Even before that, even if he was a guy, theres no way I would do that. Second option, asking him directly Are you by any chance a guy?. Looking at our current stateoption denied. If Walter was a girl like her looks implied, she would be hurt. However, I cant bring myself to state that hes definitely a girlwhy is that? Her appearance is flawless, aside from the butler costume, she looks like a girl no matter where you look. Long eyelashes, glossy lips, lovely white skinyou wouldnt think shes a guy at all. However, I dont think Herscha comes off as the type of person that would enjoy dressing girls with male clothes as a hobby, and that bothers me This calls for my last resort. Third option, reach a conclusion after asking questions repeatedly. Well, it goes without saying that this is a good option. If I can do it well enough, Ill get my answer and Walter wont notice. Alright, lets go with the third one. I spoke to Walter who was looking around restlessly in case monsters attacked. Hey Walter, isnt working for a wealthy family tough? (Hind) W-Why did you suddenly ask me that? (Walter) Well, I thought stress would pile up in that kind of environment. Its partly because Im curious though, if you dont mind, could you tell me a bit about it? Im used to my mom grumbling about her workplace so I dont really mind listening to that kind of stuff (Hind) U-Uuuhhh*sob *sob*. (Walter) Tears!? M-My bad! I must have said something really insensitive! Im sorry! (Hind) Suddenly, the situation has turned bad I wanted to talk a bit to ease up the tension, but it seems that I might have stepped onto a major landmine. Y-You are wrong*sob*, I was happy Since I started working there, there has never been anyone that said something like that to me (Walter) I-I see. If you are fine with me, you can tell me anythingotherwise, itll leave a mark in my conscience (Hind) Eh? What did you say at the end right now? (Walter) Dont mind it. (Hind) I cant really tell him at this point that it was a question to try to get information out of him. With things having turned like this, Ill hear him out until the end! Or so I thought. Once it starts flowing it floods, being bullied by the other servants, being forced to wear maid clothes in his free time, upper class manners being too hard and that he cant memorize them, not having time to study for school and so on Gradually, I was getting tired of listening to it -With that being said, what do you think, Hind-san? (Walter) !! Oh, lets see. That time you said you got scolded while cleaning because you used being short as an excuse, I believe it was because you didnt prepare something like a stool for it. At the very least, I dont think they were telling you to grow taller immediately. (Hind) I-I see (Walter) Walter seems to be a servant apprentice from the treatment he has told me about, seems like he does receive quite the harsh education. Sounds like hes going to school, but hes telling me how everyday is quite hard when he comes back from school while in tears. And the maids that make fun of you telling you that its fine if you only clean the places you can reach, they are probably educating you. Even then, this is my job. Ill do everything! They want you to reject their proposal like that. (Hind) Was I really being treated that badly!? (Walter) Walter showed surprise. However, from what I heard from Walter, it seems like the household that employs him takes pride in their unique traditions and even enforce the way their servants should speak. Didnt Herscha say this? That its important to decide things by yourselfbasically, its probably training to improve your own judgement. The places you couldnt reach to clean up, did they tell you that someone else would clean it up later? Did you make sure of that yourself? (Hind) N-Nobut, thats difficult (Walter) Walter, you come off as someone really docile after allyou have to learn to distrust others. However, personally I would recommend you to clean up as a way to reduce stress. Set a scope by yourself and clean up everything thoroughly, and its possible that you will have a feeling of accomplishment and feel good about yourself. How about you decide to do this by yourself this time? (Hind) I-I seeeven if you say that, you know that the mansion is basically clean all the time right? The other servants clean it up every day- (Walter) You moron!!!! (Hind) !? (Walter) I unconsciously shouted. Walter, you dont know anything about cleaning! I seized his slender shoulders firmly and opened my eyes wide. Walter looked frightened like a small animal, but do you think I care!? As long as people live in there, theres not a single house thats completely clean! Thats a fact! Why do you think they go through the trouble of cleaning every day? Obviously, because theres filth every day! Dont look down on cleaning! There should remain places that need you to clean them up within the mansion! (Hind) B-But, that means that theres no point in cleanin- (Walter) Even then! Thats why they clean up every day to feel good about living in that place right!? Theres no end to cleaning, theres no way to completely clean a placeso its fine to not do it? No! Thats why, dont go behaving like a spoiled kid! Even if 100% is impossible, you should clean to maintain it more than 90% clean! Thats the meaning of cleaning! Thats its raison detre! (Hind) Hiii (Walter) Due to my vigor, Walters eyes were spinning. However, that wont stop my mouth, I wont stop. Hear me Walterhousework is an accumulation of senses of accomplishments. People will think that its a given that you do them, they wont even thank you and many times it will end in just self-satisfaction However, even then. Before long, as long as you continue doing them, someone will appreciate it and the time they acknowledge you might come. Suppose that the time that you master housework comes and no one acknowledges youI alone will definitely praise you. Youve done well, Ill definitely affirm it like that. Thats why- (Hind) H-Hind-sanno, master! (Walter) Go forth without losing your way! First off, you have to leave the mansion sparkly clean with your own hands! (Hind) -Yes! Walter will go do that now! (Walter) Then, I watched over as I sent my disciple offoh wait. AH!? Wait Walter! Dont log out, we are in the middle of a quest! Come back! Dont gooooo!! (Hind) After that, I was somehow able to make sure Walter didnt log out just before he did, and we once again, headed towards our objective. Eh, what was I trying to do again?Ah, thats right. I was supposed to investigate about Walters gender. For some reason, I cant bring myself to care anymorebut I have to keep at it for Tobis sake. I should ask him something again Anyhow, I should just go back to what we were talking about before. Right, Walter. You were complaining about your superiors and the other servants before, but you didnt complain at all about the ojou-sama that employs you. As I thought, do you like her? (Hind) Eh!? (Walter) Oh, he turned red. I guess this gives him being a guy +1 points? It would become a fact if he recognized her as someone of the opposite sex though. Itsits not really about liking her or hating herojou-sama is someone that will definitely act by her own logic. Thats why, as a person, I kind of respect her (Walter) I see. Once that ojou-sama gets married, whats going to happen to you? (Hind) ?? I believe I would serve her husband too when that time comes (Walter) Ah, hes unexpectedly not agitated at all. So he doesnt treat that ojou-sama as a potential romantic interest. Which means, hes a she? Or is he taking that stance because hes a butler? Hmmshould I ask him a more direct question? Walter, do you have someone you like right now? (Hind) Eh!? A-aheh (Walter) I wonder what it is, but this kinda feels like the type of delicate questions that are asked at night during a field trip. Having heard that question, Walter was taking glances at me and was having a hard time speaking up while fidgeting. Was that too direct? In that case, lets change the way I phrase it. If its too hard for you to say, you could say a person you admire or have simply taken an interest in. This is just some idle talk, you can freely answer it. (Hind) I-I think that master is really amazing. Ive just met you, but you are kind, I can rely on you, very smart anduuthis is so embarrassing (Walter) Eh? (Hind) The Walter that said that with upturned eyes, his face wasfar redder than the time I asked about Herscha. He was staring at me with his big round eyes and flushed cheeks. .Hah!? No good, my heart has started to beat without warning This question is no good. If he looks at me like that, I wont know which one to think that he is anymore. To begin with, the way I asked him if he admired anyone, isnt that pointless the same way asking him for his surname is? Stupid meI said a word too many Ah, you know, wellthanks? (Hind) Ah, you are welcome! Ehehe (Walter) (Hind) Ahso cute, damn it! Be that as it may, hes tough! In the end, by the time we arrived at our destination, I had failed to discover Walters gender. Im out of timethis means that, I should prepare myself to ask him when we finish the quest even if it means I end up getting hated? Chapter 35 - The scream of grief that resounded throughout the summit. Walter, stop. Stop right there. (Hind) Yes? (Walter) I restrained Walter and gave him the order to not go any further. I lowered my posture and carefully pushed aside the grass a couple steps in front of us. There were traces that were too unnatural to have been done by some wild animal. Oh, there it is, I knew it. Walter, look. (Hind) Is thisa rope? (Walter) At a height where our feet would get caught, a rope was firmly straightened. The entrance of the tunnel could be slightly seen from here and when I thought that perhaps it could be that When I followed the rope with my line of sight, I saw a wooden clapper secretly dangling that would notify them if there were intruders. Other than that, there were several traps installed that were camouflaged. If the precautions are this rigorous, theres probably no doubt about it. Yup, seems like this was the right choice. (Hind) Master, you are amazing! Ah, howeverI believe you havent told me the reason you thought that the leader would be here right? (Walter) Oh, you are right. (Hind) While requesting Walter walk right behind me following my steps, I stepped across the rope. Following that, Walter, who was walking behind me tightly held onto the hem of my tunic. Yup, these gestures of his are not reallyon purpose, hes just a natural airhead I did say that their leader was quick witted right? (Hind) Yes. Your thoughts did coincide with ojou-samas in that regard right? (Walter) Thats right. So, Herscha calmly pointed at various places around the middle and expected him to be around those parts. However, I- (Hind) While talking, I proceeded very carefully while not triggering any of the large quantity of traps. They are set up in quite the unpleasant waythey are mainly made of bear traps and pitfalls so I have to be especially careful of where I walk. Before long, we even saw some small monsters and animals that had gotten caught in them. You should properly dispose of them -I just judged that the type of person that would become a bandit leader would be far more cowardly. Thats why I deduced that he would be here since its easier to run away from the town from this place. Wait, lets stop all this conceited talk here, it wouldnt be funny if there was no one inside. (Hind) No, seeing how there are this many traps hereI believe its like master has said. (Walter) That would certainly be niceoh, we have finally arrived (Hind) Even though we had only advanced about 100 meters, it had easily taken more than 5 minutes. The entrance to the tunnel was made of wood and the interior was unusually dark. When I told him that it was improbable that there would a trap placed at the entrance, Walter tried to enter first but Wait. (Hind) Eh? Again? (Walter) That rock on the wall, its color feels out of place (Hind) Ah, you are right. It feels like the color something in a set for a historical play would have. (Walter) Lets move it a bitah. (Hind) When I lightly touched it, what looked like a rock, was just a piece of cloth painted grey Protected by the heavy rocks around it, when I tore off the thin waving cloth, the entrance of a hole appeared. Its true that you wouldnt notice when you are far away, but it was a childish way to hide the entrance. Or, did they think that this was enough since the intruders would think that this was just a normal entrance to a tunnel? Shall we go? Its probably this way, the correct route (Hind) Yes, master, Ill go first. Since Im a vanguard, Ill be better off if something happens compared to master who is a Shinto priest. (Walter) Thanks. In that case, Im counting on you. (Hind) Just in case, I used Guard Up and Resist up on Walter. The hole was narrow, so we proceeded by crawling one after the other. Hihihi, I was able to get these results by using those simple minded fools welljeez, I cant stop laughing. I guess this is what they call to let your secrets slip when you are chatting. Piles of gold were lined up, the man counting the gold didnt notice us standing behind him. A lantern dimly lit this part of the tunnel. The money and goods that they pillaged were filling this slightly stinky room. Since it was very cramped, there were no beds, seems like this was a secret room to store their treasure. Ehis it OK if I just attack him? (Walter) Yeah, go ahead. (Hind) !? Just when the man turned around from hearing our voices, Walters fist plunged into the mans chest. The skinny man was blown away and slammed against the wall. The message Fainted was displayed and the game notified us that the man had lost consciousness. With just one blowthat was so disappointing. However, that was quite the beautiful thrustit probably wouldnt be like that with just the skill correction. Walter, do you have martial arts experience by any chance? (Hind) Yes. Ive done a bit of karate (Walter) Even if his appearance is lovely, his fighting prowess is high, huhI, Ive become a bit scared of angering him with my questions We used pieces of cloth and ropes in the vicinity and tightly bound the unconscious man. This is going to be a bit hard for both of us to carryeven if this man is light, hes quite tall. I guess itd be impossible unless I call Tobi and carry this guy along with him. It would be another story if there was something to carry him though. Alright, lets reunite with them on their end. If their leader is alone here, theres a possibility that they have been surrounded by a big crowd over there. (Hind) Yes, master. (Walter) Leaving the unconscious man there, we headed towards the center of the tunnels. Whats this? (Hind) This is quite theodd sight. The rowdy men with well built bodies were all prostrated. In front of them was Herscha threatening them with her raised whip and next to her was Tobi, who just looked confused. Moreover, from the looks of it, it seemed like they were arguing about something. H-however, Ane-san! Our leader is properly dividing the earnings with us Theres no way that would happen! Herscha turned to look at us when she noticed we were there. Ane-san you saythere are some of them that are injured, but there was no one that looked like they resented her at all. Dont tell mewas she able to grasp the hearts of the bandits? In this short amount of time? Shes quite terrifying. What did she really do? Ehfirst off, Im glad that you are fine. And, we were able to catch the leader on our end. There was a fair amount of treasure in a hidden room so I believe its just as Herscha has said. He was increasing his own profit. (Hind) After they heard my words, the bandits started to shout. Just when I thought it was going to get out of control- Silence! (Herscha) Her whip flashed and along with the high pitched noise of it striking the ground, Herscha shouted. Without stopping there, she started to give instructions. Vice-leader! (Herscha) Y-Yes! Ane-san! Go and check it. Hind, Tobi! (Herscha) O-Oh. Well go along with him to show him the hidden room and bring their leader while were at it. (Hind) Im counting on you. Walter, you stay here. (Herscha) Y-Yes! Ojou-sama! (Walter) After that, the situation progressed in one go with Herschas unusual leadership skills. We brought the leader in front of all his subordinates and he spilled everything, the vice-leader declared that he would turn himself in from admiration for Herscha. The rest of the subordinates followed after him. By the way, in the beginning, the leader tried to feign innocence in front of all his subordinates and the punishment Herscha tried to give him for that was quite severeother than Herscha, the faces of the rest turned pale. Normally, would you peel someones fingernails off? This is a game targeted for all ages you know? We were able to stop her somehow, so that ended up in just a failed attempt. Even I wouldnt want to see something like that Feeling Herschas level of commitment, the leader panicked and started to tell us everything. Excluding the skinny leader, it seems like the rest of the subordinates didnt commit any murders even though they had robbedsince they are going to turn themselves in, Herscha predicted that they would be able to escape the death penalty. In the case that it would be impossible, Herscha promised them that she would request the mayor to spare them herself. Hearing those words, there were some bandits that were extremely moved and even cried Since they had already surrendered, I stood next to Tobi and just looked at the bandits running around the place. Its quite the strange sight to see the perpetrators of the stealing transporting the goods to return themeven though we havent restrained anyone, no one is trying to run away. (Tobi) Yeah, you are rightits the result of Herschas influenceor rather, her controlling power. Though its kinda shockingby the way, Tobi. Regarding Walter, theres something I have to apologize about. (Hind) !! Dont tell me that your intuition was off and she was a girl!? (Tobi) No, Im sorry to say this when you are looking that happy butI still dont know. (Hind) Oh (Tobi) So, I thought that it was about to ask Walter directly (Hind) Just in time, Herscha and Walter were passing by close to us. Just when I took a step forward to tell them to stop Hah!? So you mean that if Hind wasnt there, you would have gotten caught in the traps and hed have ran away!? Jeez, you are so carelessthats why the rest of the servants make fun of you. Dont you find it vexing when they tell you that you are not manly? (Herscha) But but, master is really amazing! Ive somehow become really motivated to do my butler training! From now on, Ill switch gears and work hard to become like master! (Walter) Hehseems like you have started to be able to make a good face. Though it seems like Im in debt with Hind again. (Herscha) A certain lethal word reached ourespecially Tobis earlobes. Not manlynot manlywhich means that Walter is Aieeeee!? A guy!? Why is he a guy!? (Tobi) Hieee!? Whats wrong Tobi-san!? Its true that Im a guy though (Walter) Abah!? (Tobi) You were here? I was looking for you. (Herscha) Y-Yeah. More importantly, Tobi (Hind) With a face like the word was ending, Tobi approached Walter, having heard the truth from the person in questions own mouth, he crouched down in sorrow and shouted. What should I say hereeh, Im sorry I felt miserable and couldnt bear to look at Tobi anymore. Before I realized it, I asked Herscha as if to remind us of the truth. L-Look, Walter is very feminine, right? Thats why- (Hind) ?? However, Hes wearing a butler uniform properly though? Youd know that hes a guy just from seeing that right? (Herscha) R-Right. You are completely rightwait, like hell I would! Thats impossible! Telling me to judge from his appearance alone, thats completely foul play! Dont screw with me! (Hind) Kukuku, hahahahyahahahahaha! Ihihihihihihi! (Tobi) T-Tobi!? Tobi broke!? Hang in there! S-Someone! Medic, mediiiiiiiiiiiiiic!! (Hind) I have no idea whats going on here butarent you the medic, Hind? (Herscha) Chapter 36 - Reunion and new skill The quest was over and I was left with 3 skill point books. I insisted that I was fine with my own share, but Herscha and Walter insisted in giving me theirs as thanks. I wasnt planning to make that much of a big deal of it thoughhowever, now that I have accepted them, Ill gladly use them. After exchanging a promise that next time well party up without thinking of returning favors and such, we dissolved once we turned in the stolen goods and the bandits. Just for the record, we became the center of attention when we returned to Heathrow to turn the bandits in. Since we stood out quite a bit, Im pretty sure theyll talk about us in the BBS. So it basically went like that, the problem is the ninja in front of me that looks like an empty shell. Hey, Tobi. Come back already (Hind) (Tobi) Tobi has been like that since receiving that shock from Walter. Since I didnt have much of a choice, I had him sit down in one of the benches scattered around Heathrow but He moves when you push him and he properly accepted the reward from the quest but even then Just when I tried to wave my hand in front of his eyes to see if I could get a reaction, he suddenly moved his mouth. EhI wonder what is it, it sounds likehes muttering a magic spell? No! No! Hastah! Hastah kufuak burukudom bukutoragurun burugudomu! Ai! Ai! Hastah! (Tobi) !? What are you even trying to summon! Have your sanity reached 0 points!? Theres no golden ambrosia, nostrums or a flute with a magical jewel here! (Hind) Hah!? I-Im finemy consciousness has returned! (Tobi) Those are not words that would come from someone that is fine! Get a grip! (Hind) Seems like he is still confused, so what hes saying doesnt make any sense. However, as I kept talking to him, he started to calm down. His eyes are dead though Uuuu. I mean, Hind-donoits like Im having a nightmareeeeven though his looks are perfect, to think that hes a guy (Tobi) Well, it was my bad. I gave you the preconception that Walter was a girl (Hind) Im grateful for your wordsbut in the end, I believe it was because I misunderstood. Actually, I still cant bring myself to believe it (Tobi) We both sighed and the atmosphere turned gloomy. Its not like its Walters faultits our own fault for thinking that he was a girl to begin with. Before long, Tobi stood up from the bench with lifeless movements. Wacchi. Ill log out hereand heal myself with screenshots of Maou-chan (Tobi) O-Ohgood work (Hind) Wacchi, what about tomorrow? (Tobi) Since it seems like my part-time job is going to be tough tomorrow, I probably wont log in. I might play a bit the day after tomorrow at night. (Hind) OK, guess Ill do the same. See you- (Tobi) Yeah, see you. (Hind) When Tobi logged out, I checked the time. ..Geh, its 11pm already. Hasnt it been 3 hours since I started already? Once I meet up with Yumir, guess Ill log out for the night too. Since she hasnt contacted me yet, Ill use the skill point books and allot those points in skillsan email inside the game has arrived. Just when I thought that it had finally arrived, I opened the menu and checked the contents. Sender: Siesta Subject: Help me Body: Please stop, Ill die If you are in the vicinity please save me Its not from Yumir!? Its from Siesta-chan and this message I pinpointed her location from my friend list and hurriedly ran to the west exit of the town. Western side of Heathrow Latera lakeshore. When I entered the field, I marked the location of Siesta-chan in the map and started to run. The four of them went quite deepits quite far. On the way to the lakeshore, the monsters inside the forest were aquatic living creatures like frogs and crayfish. It goes without saying that their size was fiendish since they were monsters. The crayfish are especially aggressive, even if you dont attack them, they will persistently chase you while brandishing their scissors. Since itd be hopeless with my own fighting strength, I could only run while praying that I wouldnt get caught. Before long, the forest widened and I reached the sandy beach of the lake. There they are! Wait, what the hell is this!? (Hind) A gigantic water buffalo of about 10 meters with horns protruding from it was chasing Yumir while raising clouds of dust. And then, in a spot a bit apart from them was Siesta-chan with a millimeter of HP and the other twothe knight Lycoris-chan and the archer Cineraria-chan were incapacited. Ah, Hind-senpai. Save me- (Siesta) Siesta-chan asked me to save her with a voice devoid of a sense of urgency. Are they perhaps out of holy water? I thought I had given them quite the amount of them though. I checked the timer until they would resurrect and gave aHoly Water to Cineraria. Then used Revive on Lycoris-chan to resurrect her. Yumir, how long will you be able to hold up!? (Hind) !! Hind, is that you!? 30 seconds more should be my limit! (Yumir) Alright, just wait! Siesta-chan, heal those 2! (Hind) Yeees. (Siesta) After resurrecting them, we both healed them to full HP and they stood up. In a panic, Lycoris-chan tried to go back into battle. T-Thank you very much! Yumir-san, Ill go help you right- (Lycoris) Dah! Gather here, all three of you gather here! (Hind) Eh? (Lycoris) However, I stopped her. Seeing that, Siesta-chan assisted me in persuading her. Ah, both of you. Lets do as senpai says? OK? (Siesta) O-OKLyco! (Sai) Ah, yes! (Lyco) I casted Guard up on Yumir, who was fighting alone on the front to buy time for Healing to come back since it had gone on CD. Judging from the order these girls died, if they fought the same way, they would just end up in a pinch again. First off, Ill focus on healing Yumir, so Siesta-chan should focus on Lycoris-chan. Cineraria-chan should attack at a frequency that the enemy wont attack her. Once the monster turns towards you, immediately stop attacking it. Understood? Its fine to go with the idea of using the vanguards as a shield. Other than that, have you acquired Arrow rain? Y-Yes, I do have it. (Sai) In that case, I want you to not use it until I give you the signal. Lycoris-chan, if you take too much damage, stop attacking too. Whenever your HP isabove 50% you are free to attack. Otherwise, leave it to Yumir. (Hind) U-Understood (Lyco) These girls are still beginners so they dont understand the game. They especially dont know about aggro management, you could say that the archer who is supposed to be a middle guard dying first is a pure mistake in their battle tactics. While giving them instructions that even they could execute, I started casting Revive which had come back from CD. From the glimpses I got, the only one whose battle style doesnt show any issues is Siesta-chans, so it could mean that she didnt teach them because it would be a painI think shes the only one that has an extensive knowledge about games. I mean, I didnt think we would go this far tonight. So I dont think its my fault? They were all getting into it, so I couldnt really stop them. So, was it like my mistake for reading the mood? (Siesta) Can you not read my mind as if its the obvious thing to do!? I believe you are guilty because you didnt stop them even though you knew! (Hind) Morusua (Yumir) Aheveryone, battle is restarting! (Hind) I revived Yumir who had just died and the 5 of us turned to face the Gigantic Buffalo. Its level was 35 and its HP was extraordinarily high so it had barely been shaved. I get the feeling this is going to be a war of attrition Two on the front, one in the middle and two at the back, we arranged ourselves in a balanced formation. Take this! (Yumir) Lyco, its going your way! (Cineraria) Got it, Sai-chan! (Lyco) Arooo! (Yumir) Yumir! You died too fast! Why have your movements become reckless once I arrived here!? (Hind) In exchange, the damage she dealt has increased though. Senpais follow ups are so perfect that I might fall in love with you right here. (Siesta) Since you have nothing to do, why wont you shoot some offensive magic!? You are a balanced type right!? (Hind) Revive, Potion, Guard up, Attack up, Healing, Magic upeven though it was only just one more person, supporting a 5-man party was so hectic that it felt like my eyes were spinning. Bumooooooooooooooooo! !! Right after the enemys HP had finally reached 30%, the buffalo let out a cry and its black body turned red. Its status showed attack up and defense downan unique action that many bosses have, the so called berserk state. However, this change in status is better for us instead! Both knights, focus on evasion! (Hind) OK! (Yumir) Eh? Ah, yes! (Lyco) Cineraria-chan, be prepared to use arrow rain! Well aim to finish it off with it! (Hind) C!! Yes! I was waiting for that! (Sai) Senpai, what about me? (Siesta) Shoot offensive magic at the same time as the arrow rain, if the two at the front take damage, heal them! (Hind) Got it (Siesta) Yumir and Lycoris-chan dealt shallow cuts on the enemy and dodged its vigorous charges. While that was happening, I used Attack up on Cineraria-chan. The enemy stopped its charge and at the timing that it would be too late for it to head in our direction Fire! (Hind) Please hit! (Sai) An arrow imbued with magic power was shot to the heavensit broke into an innumerable amount of arrows and they ran down incessantly from the sky. They rained down incessantly on top of the huge body which had its defense lowered and the HP bar that had taken us so much effort to shave started to be shaved off at a rapid pace. Just as I thought, this skill had great affinity in this kind of situation. Most of the arrows easily hit the large body of the buffalo. However Gururururu N-No way! (Lyco) Its still alive, Hind! (Yumir) The buffalo still had some HP left. Both knights were in a panic, but there was nothing to worry about. The chant had already ended. I aimed the new skill I had just gotten Quick at Cineraria-chan. The shining light was absorbed by her body. T-This is!? (Sai) Well then, one more time! Fire! (Hind) Understood! Here I go! (Sai) Quick is a support skill that refreshes the CD of the last skill the person had used. Having become able to use Arrow rain in rapid succession, it rained down againand it splendidly was able to shave off the rest of the Gigantic Buffalos HP. Its large body bent and its mass made the surrounding sand rise up. Chapter 37 - End of the long night Im so tiredtoday sure has been hectic. (Hind) Since it was a fight after I had sprinted with all my might it had been quite tiring. It wasnt like I had been using my real body, but you ran out of breath here and it you can feel oddly tired. Just when I stabbed my staff on the sand and threw myself into it, a shadow was cast over my head and I knew somebody had stood up. Thank you, senpai. I didnt think you would really come. With an email like that. (Siesta) Does she even realize how severe the contents of the email were?Should the other person have taken that email as just a joke? Siesta-chan. I got quite a few things to say to you since you were in a position to stop them from taking fights recklessly but (Hind) While I said that, I averted my gaze and raised the upper half of my body. If I stayed like that, I would have been looking at that white piece of cloth in the space between her legsdoesnt she realize shes wearing a skirt type of defensive gear? Should I tell her that shes defenseless? Or should I keep quiet about it? You can look more you know? Its not like Im losing anything. (Siesta) It was on purpose!? You should stop doing things like that. Something bad will happen to you one day you know? (Hind) Her wavy long hair stands out and she has a lovely face. Her sleepy expression could act as a sort of healing quality to people and theres the possibility of it being a plus. Her style tooyup. Im not Tobi, but my eyes will wander off even if I dont want toisnt this dangerous? That last part was completely unnecessary. However, she just stared at me with those absent-minded eyes that made me unable to read her emotions. Since I choose who I show it to theres no problem. Only for senpai. (Siesta) EhI really dont know whats going through that head of yours (Hind) Dont worry. Sometimes, even I dont know what Im thinking about. My intuition takes preference? (Siesta) Isnt that no good? (Hind) Right? (Siesta) HahIm losing the energy complain about it (Hind) Or it could be that this was her aim. On the other side, the three of them were sharing the joy of having defeated the gigantic monster. Could it be that it was the area boss?That gigantic buffalo. My level had gone up by 1 too and since the fight took a long time, theres no doubt that it was a boss class monster. My level right now is 31. The reason I managed to get here in time was because the timing was good. It just so happens that I had just finished the other quest I was invited to join by the other party. (Hind) Oh? A quest. Senpai, do you know many people? Are you a swindler? (Siesta) What do you even mean by swindler? Its not like that at all, you know? The number of friends in my friend list is 7 counting you. (Hind) Fuunit looks like its going to become 9 soon enough. Fuwahso sleepy (Siesta) ?? (Hind) While yawning, Siesta-chan turned her back and took several steps. Just when I thought that it was weird that she was taking her distanceI heard 3 people that were running draw closer and they stopped in front of me suddenly. A wave of sand was advancing towards me Whapuh!? (Hind) And I was bathed in sand. The inside of my mouth is grittybut I somehow managed to protect my eyes. Ah, sorry Hind. (Yumir) We are sorry. You girls (Hind) I stood up and dusted the sand off myself. The cluster of sand fell off my clothes and returned to the sandy beach. With sparkling eyes, the two girls started to talk to me excitedly. Even though I thought we would definitely be unable to win, with just being told a single thing to do, it was that different! Yumir-sans wild movements are really cool, but I was really moved! Its only because Hind-san is there that Yumir-san shines! (Lyco) Firing arrow rain twice in a row was really thrilling! Eh, if you dont mind, please teach me about all sorts of things! Id love to have them as a reference! (Sai) O-Oh (Hind) Being pressured with such vigor, I unconsciously took a step back. When I looked at Yumir in search for help, she crossed her arms and just said. So, there you have it. Exchange friend requests with these two, Hind! (Yumir) There you have it you sayits not like I mind though (Hind) Thank you very much! However, they sure have gotten along really well in such a short span of time. Leaving aside the fact that among the three of them, I get the feeling that Siesta-chan is always one step ahead. To begin with, Miyu is someone that tends to be adored by younger girls, shes even popular at school so I can sort of understand this result. Even though she doesnt particularly like to look after others, if you told me that it was strange, I would say that it isjust as Lycoris-chan had said, younger girls would probably see that sort of thing as cool. If you asked Rise, she would just say that shes savage and vulgar, so I guess it depends on the person you ask. After we finished exchanging friend requests, as expected, we had been playing for a long time so we decided to break up. Its also quite late for middle school students to be awakeah, now that I think about it they are middle school students. Tomorrow is a holiday, so I guess they were allowed to stay up a bit later than usual. We all returned to Heathrow town and decided to log out for the day. I entered the hallway from my bedroom and saw light coming out from Rises room. So shes still awakeshe sure is working hard. It might be a bit late, but should I bring her a warm drink as I had planned before? I went down to the kitchen on the first floor, heated up a pot and blended milk and soy milk. I put in some cocoa powder and mixed it and with that, a hot cocoa to warm oneself up was made. If this was a coffee shop, they might have put in salt or black pepper. Carrying the cocoa I knocked the door lightlybut there was no response. Since Rise doesnt really listen to music while studying, she should have been able to hear it. While letting out a Im entering I opened the doorand there I saw the figure of Rise sleeping on the desk. I guess I should drink the cocoa I made myself? I placed the cap on top of the desk for the time being and rolled up the futon on the bed first. From within it, a hugging pillow with a colourful patchwork made from my old clothes appeared. It was something I made for Rise when I was still a beginner at sewing, so it holds a lot of memories for me. Thats why, its a bit rough. Luckily, Rise was studying in her pajamas, so I carried her small body to the bed. I gently placed her on the bed and put the covers on her and when I tried to take my distance Hnn!? (Wataru) I tried to, but at some point she had grasped the hem of my clothes firmly. When I tried to gently make her hand let go, she put more force into it and refused to let gothe truth is, shes probably awake? Hah (Wataru) Since theres no helping it, I reached out to Rises desk chair and brought it closer, then I used it to sit down next to the bed. The cocoa toooh, I can just about reach it. While drinking that, I decided to stay there until Rise decided to let go. Things in Rises room are kept in order and its pretty tidy, but I get the feeling that there might not be that many accessories for a girl. Well, Ive only know of Rises and Miyus rooms though. Just for the record, if I dont clean up Miyus room, she would do as she pleases and leave things scattered around. Like that, I looked around the room for no particular reason, and my eyes met my own self looking at me. It wasnt the projection of a mirror or the window. There was a framed picture on top of the desk, inside, was a picture of me wearing the school uniform. I wonder when that was takenat the very least, I dont remember taking that photo. She changed the photo without me realizingeach time I enter Rises room, I get the feeling I see a different one. If it was a family photo it might be fine, but having a picture of just me on top of her desk was quite embarrassinglets turn it over when I leave the room Hnn (Rise) Oh. (Hind) With a moan, Rise released her hand, so without a moment of delay I stood up from the chair. Just in time, I had finished drinking the cocoa. Uuu. (Rise) When I did, her hand was creeping about lonely so with my empty hand I put the cup on the desk and had Rise clutch the hugging pillow. She buried her face in the pillow and held it tightly and with an expression of relief then she switched to breathing like a sleeping person, like that I proceeded to leav- Ah, I was about to forget. (Hind) At last, I turned over my own photograph placed on the desk, switched off the lights and left Rises room in a hurry and returned to my own room. Good night, Rise. Chapter 38 - The scenery in my part-time job during a holiday Good morning. Master, Mariko-san. (Wataru) Ah, Wataru-kun. Morning.(Shirou) Morning, Wataru-chan. (Mariko) Saturday morning, I entered the shop for my part-time job, greeted the elderly couple and put on my apron. They were both currently cleaning the interior and lining up the chairs. The owner was called Hyuga Shirou-san and his wife Hyuga Mariko-san. A small coffee shop inconspicuously built in an alleyway in the shopping district, this is were I was working part-time. I used to work in places like convenience stores and fast food restaurants, but those types of busy stores just didnt go well with me. Just when I was thinking about what work I would be able to do for a long time, as if I was pulled by something, I entered this shop and it marked the beginning. The interior gave an antique and calm feeling and the aroma and deliciousness of masters coffeeit was love at first sight. Today is service day after all. Ill get fired up! (Wataru) Dont force yourself. Jeez, Wataru-chan, you work too hard so auntie is worried. (Mariko) This is nothing. Since you increased the amount of the menu you are in charge of, its been quite comfortable. (Wataru) Fufu. In that case, shall we make preparations to open the shop? (Mariko) They werent supposed to be hiring anyone but I made an unreasonable request for them to hire me. The reason for that was because this store, Sunny place (Hinata) teahouse was scheduled to close in a couple months due to financial difficulties. After that, we borrowed the help of various people and were able to get back on track and that brings us to the current day. As long as nothing goes wrong, I plan to work here until I graduate from high school. Oh right, master. What happens to cocoa when you add salt or black pepper? I read something about it in a magazine a while back. (Wataru) Hmm? Lets seeadding salt will increase its sweetness and if you add black pepper itll improve its aroma. Itll probably warm up your body even more combined with the original effects of the cocoa. Wataru-kun, do you know about spicy cocoa? (Shirou) No. Do they add cinnamon? (Wataru) You are right about the cinnamon. Other than that, ginger, red pepper, nutmeg, cardamomthere are quite a few things that go well with it so there are plenty of variants. They have various aromas and flavours, its pretty interesting. (Shirou) I see. I might try it out next time. (Wataru) Come on you two, your hands have stopped. Men sure end up talking about their knowledge right away (Mariko) Ah, Im sorry. (Wataru) Next to me who was apologizing, master made a bitter smile and proceeded to go and put up the board sign. Meanwhile, I focused on making preparations for cooking, I made the dough and poured it into the mold. When I had baked about three of them, the regulars that came to eat in the morning entered through the door. Welcome. (Shirou) Morning, master. A morning A set please. Understood. (Shirou) Once he heard the order, master ground the beans in the manual mill. For a while, the interior was filled with a great fragrancehah, I meant this. As long as this rich fragrance is here, I can feel this sensation of harmonyno good, my poor vocabulary is unable to describe whats great about this fragrance. It might be because I took a liking to it, but when you drink it, its flavor is deep and the sourness of its aftertaste is excellent too. I really love the taste of the coffee that master brews. The morning set that regulars ask for often in the morning are mostly made of toast sets and pasta ones, for the time being, I went back to making preparations. By the time the ones I started baking are done itd be around 10am. I moved around while being busy cleaning tableware and tables, cooking and taking orders. Mixed in among the regulars that were here for breakfast, you could see that the amount of young women was increasing here and there. Welcom-ah, Saitou-san. (Wataru) Hey there, Kishikami-kun. Since its service day, I came to get some cake. (Saitou) Thanks. Are you alone today? (Wataru) Nope, I have plans to go shopping with friends so we decided to meet up here. Both of them are coming later. (Saitou) I see. In that case, please take a seat in a table. (Wataru) Yes. (Saitou) I placed a somewhat large piece of chiffon cake on a plate and brought it to her table along with a blend coffee garnished in fresh cream. Cake set of the day, its cost was a single 500 yen coin. Usually it would cost 100 yen morebut the difference of 100 yen is no laughing matter for a student. Thats why it tends to be quite busy when we reduce the price every Saturday. What Ive been mixing since this morning, putting it into the molds and baking in high quantities were all chiffon cakes for this cake set of the day. The weakness of this shop was that it was unable to bring in young customersin order to fix that, I proposed to serve a cake set of the day at a low price a week after I started working here. Originally, this shop mainly offered toasts and pasta dishes, if we were talking about sweets, it would be pancakes at most and that bothered me. Since we were short of hands, we added chocolate cake to the menu, but since we only were able to make 1 type of it, we decided to change it into offering a cake of the day. The person who spread the word about this shop with word of mouth was actually this Saitou-san. Even in this age of the internet, it seems that theres value in word of mouth online. Right now, you can even see students from the local university. Ah, Kisshi a cake set for me too. Watarun, me too. Kishikami-kun, a coffee refill please. The chiffon cake was so fluffy. So good. (Saitou) Got it, please wait just a moment. (Wataru) I wonder why it is so hard for people to call me by my given name? The ones that ordered were the two girls that had suddenly appeared in Saitou-sans table and her. Its a bit lively during this hourbut once it gets close to noon, the age of the people that come to the store will be higher and the atmosphere of the shop will turn calm. From 3pm to early in the evening it will once again be filled with young people and turn lively. Adding the original clientele, the store does give quite the nice feeling of rotation. Thank you for coming. (Wataru) Saitou-san and the others left the store satisfied. They said that they would come again later if they had any money left after buying their thingsbut from what Ive seen, the chances for that are slim. They did seem like they were in the mood of letting fate run its course and buy various things. There was a period of time, where they worried that having too much of an increase in younger customers would destroy the peaceful atmosphere of the shop. However, luckily both of them said that they were happy because it felt like the number of grandchildren they had, had increased. Theres also the fact that the times they come dont tend to overlap with the time the old regulars come and they didnt seem to lose interest in the shop either so they were relieved at that time. I saw Saitou-san and the others off, once I got back to the kitchen, Mariko-san approached me. Even though shes at this age, her actions are relatively youthful. Thats why, she asked me this. Wataru-chan sure is popular. Who do you prefer among those three? (Mariko) Mariko-san, please stop that. To begin with, two of them already got boyfriends you know? (Wataru) Ara, such a shame. (Mariko) Its not really a shame. (Wataru) Normies should explodewell not really. Since its like that, I wished they brought their boyfriends to the shop too. It would contribute to the sales. By the way, the one that is free among those three is Saitou-san. Unfortunately, the number of applications for that position is high. The busy morning and lunch times peak time ended and the customer traffic calmed down a bit. The one who unexpectedly appeared at that time was Shuuhei, who was completely energetic unlike last night. Hey, Wacchi. Since I was free, I came to tease you! (Shuuhei) Master, give this guy a blue mountain. (Wataru) Dont be like that, Wataru-kun. (Shirou) Wai-wai-wait! Nearly 1000 Yen for a cup of coffee!? I wont drink that! I dont even have a refined tongue to understand the flavor! (Shuuhei) Since you are already here, order something. If you dont, Ill force you to drink a Black Ivory. (Wataru) My monthly pocket money will all be gone! Eh, lets seea blend coffee and a pizza toast. Wacchi, since you are free, come and talk with me. (Shuuhei) By the way, Black Ivory is a type of coffee beans thats salvaged from elephants excrement, a single cup goes for thousands of Yen, its a top class bean. Occasionally, a gentleman with a perfect suit orders it, so we do have small quantities in our store. Shuuhei saw that there was not a single customer in the shop and beckoned me to his table. Im still in the middle of my shift thoughwhen I looked at master and his wife, they smiled implying they didnt mind. Wataru-chan, go ahead. You still havent eaten lunch right? Ill make something for you. (Mariko) Ah, is it really OK? In that casea Naporitan. (Wataru) Got it. Ill bring it to your seat, so take it easy. Go with your friend. (Mariko) Thank you very much! Wacchi, come on. (Shuuhei) Ah, Ill be right there. In that case, Ill take your offer and take a break. (Wataru) Yes, go ahead. (Mariko) Since its Shuuhei, hes probably going to talk about the game. Though Im a bit annoyed that I noticed my face becoming softer too. Chapter 39 - The signpost displayed by muscle A Naporitan with steam rising from it was placed in front of me. After thanking Mariko-san, I immediately started winding it around the fork and took a bite. Yup, I cant get enough of this simple flavor full of ketchup. Those people that have the image of a Naporitan when a coffee shop is mentioned probably know what Im talking about. Well then, Wacchi. You did say that you wanted to make a Guild Home soon, right? (Shuuhei) I do remember saying that. However, isnt that world ginormous? (Wataru) If we went around the place like Miyu wanted to, it would be pretty hard. We havent secured a means of transport after all. Yup. Thats why I thought that it would be nice to narrow down the places after gathering information about them. (Shuuhei) I see. So, you mean that BBS? (Wataru) You are right. Walkthrough sites are good, but only information that has a high degree of accuracy is put on them. It cant win against the speed of the BBS. (Shuuhei) On the other hand, you need to verify on your own if the information on the BBS is true or not (Wataru) Isnt that the fun part? That brief entertainment of avoiding fake information. (Shuuhei) Its not like I dont understand that kind of thing. I dont hate fumbling around for information. (Wataru) Shuuhei muttered So good while biting his pizza toast. I continued eating my Naporitan and when I was done, I took a sip of coffee. Fuujust with this one cup, I could work properly for the remaining time. Shuuhei took out his smartphone and I searched for mine too. So, which thread do you think will have good information? You got an idea already, right? (Wataru) I recommend this Thread about places suitable for a stroll in the TB world. Youll see once you read it. (Shuuhei) Here and there]Thread number 4 about places suitable for a stroll in the TB worldAimlessly] This is a thread for reporting information about things youve found in the world of the VRMMORPG TrailBlazer. Regarding the place you witnessed it, the credibility will increase if you provide things like a screenshot and the coordinates and place within the game. I couldnt memorize it, I didnt have the time to do it! For these kind of people, its fine if you mention the nearest facility or landmark. Currently the main topic is about which way to head to with Heathrow town as the place of origin. The next thread will be made once we reach >>>950 comments. 847Nameless Shinto priestIDGztnDhA I saw a UFO! In the south side! 848Nameless mageID9FHrFjH Sure sure 849Nameless martial artistIDcfrSJaP Good for you 850Nameless archerIDND4pLLa I found a gigantic bull in the west side of Heathrow and there was a lake close to it! Image] I got scared and thought about ignoring it, but then a barrier Ah, the place was Latera lake shore. 851Nameless knightID3WU4KEe Isnt that the area boss? A wall that cant be seen. Since this is about taking a stroll, its regrettable, but that place is not suitable! 852Nameless mageIDmP6wJTm You cant really go through it, but taking a detour would also prove to be difficult. After all, even if you took a detour around the area boss at a level you cant beat it, further along the way it would be infested with high leveled small fry. 853Nameless heavy warriorIDTZP5anV Life is hard You cant really take a stroll if you are weak 854Nameless light warriorIDzsbGFTM So you dont become stronger to fight but to take a stroll, huh? Our aim is already puzzling. 855Nameless Shinto priestIDGztnDhA UFO(??`) 856Nameless knightID75ae3Du Hey, the attention seeker over there, you are annoying lol. If you want us to believe you, show us a screenshot! 857Nameless archerIDdXjwVRS Youll reply if I attach an image, right!? Image] @855 probably means this 856Nameless heavy warriorIDZU3GBbf I took a look, but isnt this just a jellyfish!? Though its true that its flying in the sky! 857Nameless Shinto priestIDGztnDhA (?<) Tehee (sticking out his tongue) 858Nameless mageIDx97hcBE So annoying lol. However, even monsters like this exist, huh? I wonder if the south side is warm?Is the sea close to it? However, since this one appeared in the sky I guess its unrelated? 859Nameless heavy warriorIDD2kKJRU A little to the north of Heathrow, the capital. Image] North of that place. Image] South. Image] East. Image] South. Image] 860Nameless archerIDWytY3BJ !? What the hell is this!? 861Nameless light warriorIDzsbGFTM Whats with this guyhes amazing 862Nameless Shinto priestIDCNKWZY5 @859 What absurd clearing speed LMAO. Until what point have you been able to advance? LOL. 863Nameless Shinto priestIDUdBzs5S Seems like you took them from quite the high place, how did you do it? Since we cant see your feet, I cant really tell. 864Nameless martial artistIDcfrSJaP Did you climb a tree? 865Nameless archerIDWytY3BJ No matter how I look at it, that last image shows a desert There wouldnt be a tree close by to climb. 866Nameless mageIDx97hcBE Isnt that why that jellyfish was flying? I get the feeling this is a screenshot that was taken in the air. 867Nameless archerIDY7FEM6W Well, leaving aside how @859 took these screenshots, if these are the real thing, the topography sure is well defined. The north side is a mountain area. There are various islands scattered throughout the south side. The east side is full of forests. The west side is a desert area. The centerI guess we can set it as the starting point? We are talking with Heathrow as the starting point after all and the town is close to it. 868Nameless mageIDTPNKWtd I guess thats fine. By the way, the NPCs from Altrowa and Heathrow said that we are currently in the Grado Empires Thala territory. 869Nameless knightIDSaximAw So we were currently within an empire. I had no idea. 870Nameless mageIDTPNKWtd You should know that much at least LOL. If you asked the people in your current region, theyd tell you. Though if you ask about other regions, they wont tell you for some reason. 871Nameless heavy warriorIDwkGxrWE Its probably to limit the amount of information you can get. The developers probably want the players to explore the areas they dont know anything about. 872Nameless martial artistIDcfrSJaP So, in the end we dont know how much this empires territory expands to. I get the feeling that these areas where the topography changes considerably are part of another country though. 873Nameless heavy warriorIDeDLVWDj We can probably say that its like that because of the premise of the game. Since we didnt have much time, I only looked through the most recent comments in the thread. Then I fixed my gaze on Shuuhei again. Judging from his expression, I guess he wanted to show me those screenshots made by the heavy warrior in the comment number 859. Are these screenshots even trustworthy? If they are the real thing, they are very valuable information though. (Wataru) Youd usually think that. However, Wacchi. How about you take a look at the third screenshot again? (Shuuhei) ? (Wataru) When I opened the image as I was told, a scenery of an island and the sea taken from a high place wasHmm!? When I looked at it properly, I could see a thick arm in the corner of the image. It looked like a naked arm, but since the scenery was the focal point of the image, it only looked like an arm and there was no gear being shown. With just this much I do see an arm, but what does this have to do with anything? I dont really see anything special that would(Wataru) I can see it. The appearance and state of these muscles, theres no doubt about itthis is Aniki! (Shuuhei) What? (Wataru) For several seconds, my thought process stopped. I cant comprehend what Shuuhei is saying. Being able to tell each person by the appearance of his muscles? This guy Thats gross. (Wataru) !!? Dont call me gross! Look, unlike you, I did handshake with Aniki, remember!? I was able to take a close look at that time- (Shuuhei) Fuun. (Wataru) Stop looking at me with those cold eyes! Ill say this right now, I dont swing that way, OK!? I was just charmed by how pure and cool of a man he was! Wacchi, dont you also like people like the warring states commanders and the patriots of the end of Edo era!? (Shuuhei) Toyotomi Hidenaga and Hijikata Toshizo are the masters of my mind. Dont make fun of them. (Wataru) Im not! I wanted to say that it was in the same sense as those! (Shuuhei) I get it, I get it (Wataru) Dont make such a ruckus, youll surprise Master and his wife. If we think that the one that took these screenshots was that mercenary Albert He didnt seem like the type that would lie. Even though we only talked to him for a short time. (Wataru) Right? Thats why, I think this information is trustworthy to a certain point. (Shuuhei) Righthowever. If its that person, if you told me that he went to those places and made a big jump and took these screenshots, I would believe you (Wataru) Buh!? Stop that, Wacchi! Theres no way that (Shuuhei) Our conversation took a break and we started to imagine Aniki. An Aniki wearing lightweight equipment showing his muscles. Suddenly, he lowered his body, with great vigor his muscles contracted and with a groan he built up his strength. Then, he released all the strength he had built up in one go! The ground was gouged out and the atmosphere trembled. Like a catapult, Aniki was ejected from the ground, that heavy-like body soared through the sky further and further L-Lets stop here! Lets not think more about it! (Wataru) Y-You are right! Anyway, since it seems like this information comes from Aniki it does have its weight! (Shuuhei) I was overthinking things and my head was about to go crazy. Well, I meansince Rise is finishing her exams tomorrow, it should be fine if we discussed this information when the four of us gathered. Just when the conversation reached a stopping point, the doorbell made a *karan karan* sound. Oh, customers. I ended my break and stood up to greet the customers. Welco-What are you doing, you two? (Wataru) Just when I was thinking about who it could be, Miyu and Rise entered the shop while glaring at each other. They came together to the shop in good termswell, I guess theres no way that happened W-Well, Im going back right now, Wacchi! See you tomorrow! (Shuuhei) Ah, hey! (Wataru) That guy, he ran away. He did leave the money to pay for the food and drinks on top of the table, but what should I think of him as a friend? Ahhow should I deal with this? From the looks of it, Rise is taking a break from studying and Miyu simply came here to eat some cake? I came to see nii-san who is doing his best at work. Then I saw someone I didnt want to meet here (Rise) Wataru, I came to get some cake and see you in the meantime! However, after seeing an unpleasant shorty, I have lost my appetite though! (Miyu) Their timings had been too goodwait, it should be too bad. Anyway, since I didnt have any choice, I made them sit at the counter with an empty seat between them. Other customers have come in, so I want them to be as quiet as possible. Hey, Wataru-chan. In the end, which one is your favorite? Those two are lovely today too. How about you tell auntie secretly? (Mariko) Hah (Wataru) As expected, Mariko-san tried to poke fun at me. One of them is my younger sister, I get the feeling I did explain this at some point though. Is it because we dont look alike? I guess she forgot about it soon enoughin that case, I give up. Master looked at me with a bitter smile and he murmured a So young which remained in my ears. Chapter 40 - Crafting and lap pillow Sunday evening, 9 pm. Since I had logged in before everyone else, I was currently doing some crafting. One of my aims was to upgrade our weapons with turtle type ones. Compared to our defensive gear, our weapons were already falling off. If we are going to head out to the vicinity of Heathrow, I felt the need to upgrade the weapons of everyone except Tobi. In the now less populated blacksmiths workshop of Heathrow town I made 2 staves and a sword quickly. Since I made them with fine quality and +10 which is the upper limit for turtle type gear, there werent any problems with them. This is all thanks to Selene-sans guidanceits going well. Their offensive power is about 30% higher than those made of iron, but the selling point of the turtle gear is that their endurance is about four times that of iron gear. Even if it turns out to be a long trip we should be safe with this. Once I was done with that, I moved onto making that accessory I promised to make for Riizu. The place was a bench close to the fountain in Heathrow. I used a small amount of tortoiseshell which was a rare drop that dropped apart from the shells, I completed it without much trouble. Even if I say so myself, I believe it turned out quite well. Next up is sewing. The material was a player original synthetic fiber that resembled denim cloth I bought in the trading BBS. Other than that, I bought fire worms thread that can generally add fire resistance to defensive gear you sew it in. Both of them were quite expensivebut I was somehow able to sell all the elven ears, so I still have some surplus of money. To think they would sell in just two days after I registered them. Since it seems like theres a demand for them, Ill think about making them again once we start running out of money. I concentrated and carefully stuck the thread through the somewhat hard denim cloth. Oh, I have no issues handling this. In reality, I wish I had a sewing machine, but the sewing in the game called TB is made so that itll complete on its own once you finish 30% of the work. The problem is the loss of feeling in my thighs for staying in the same posture for a long period of time. My legs are about to go numb. I want to stand up and relax my body. Even inside the game your body will feel stiff and the circulation of blood can be stopped. Thats why S-Siesta-chanwake up already, dont really go to sleep (Hind) Suuuu.munya. (Siesta) I talked to the girl that was using someone elses legs as a pillow. She suddenly appeared here about 30 minutes ago. It was around the time I was making the finishing touches on the tortoiseshell accessory, I couldnt do anything about it at the timebut before I realized it, she was having my lap all for herself. However, what meaning is there in sleeping inside the game? (Hind) Senpai, you didnt know? You can recover HP and from status ailments if you sleep inside the game. Furthermore, itll reduce the speed at which the hunger gauge depletes. (Siesta) Really!? Wait, if you are awake please move! My legsare alreadyat their limit! (Hind) You are such a weaklingwell, if you trained your body, I wouldnt be able to lie on such a pleasant lap though. I have taken a liking to senpais lap. (Siesta) Nuaaaa! (Hind) I didnt have the time to reply to her. Immediately after Siesta-chan raised her body, the cloth I was working on and placed on top of the bench fell down to the ground and I tried to catch it with both hands. Now that my legs were free from her weight, the blood circulation returnedeven though it would be fine if they didnt reproduce even these minute details! Aaahhthe NPCs and players suspicious glances focused on me. This is so embarrassing, but I cant move. While I stood still like that, a stone kicked by a random passerby accidentally flew towards my leg -!! (Hind) It was a direct hit in the area that had gone numb. It was a soundless groan, but it was squeezed out from the depths of my throat. That was awful (Hind) I sat on the bench again, I spent quite a lot of time squatting like that until I was able to return to my sewing work. Im about to finish this one so I want to finish them all in one go. With her usual unchanging sleepy face even though she had woken up, Siesta-chan absent-mindedly stared at my hands. Dont mind it, senpai. (Siesta) Should that be said by the culprit!? Besides! (Hind) Sure sure. (Siesta) Kuh (Hind) Its definitely going in one and out of the other. I cant get a serious reply. It gives the feeling that Im dealing with a whimsical cat. By the way, where are Lycoris-chan and Cineraria-chan? Are you alone today? (Hind) Those two are good girls, so they are already sleeping. Since Im a bad girl, Im having a tryst with senpai like this (Siesta) I get the feeling I heard an improper word there, was it just my imagination? Hah. In that case, how about you go and get some sleep? Its going to be 10 pm soon enough, isnt it late for a middle schooler to be awake? (Hind) -You are so mean, senpai! With those words you are trying to say that Im a hindrance right!? Uuu (Siesta) No matter how I think about it you are just acting cheeky, you wouldnt cry over this much (Hind) They are definitely fake tears. Shes carefully hiding her face with both hands and her voice is shaking, but it was so obvious that it was at a level it made me want to cry too. Just as I thought, once I took one of her hands down, behind it was only her usual sleepy face. However, I can easily trick my male classmates like this, you know? (Siesta) You are the one thats very mean! (Hind) Shes the devil, the devil is here. Abusing womens weaponsher male classmates should also take a better look at her and notice. Its so obvious. ? Hmm? (Siesta) Oh? Whats wrong? (Hind) Siesta-chan suddenly shifted her gaze to a place where there was nothing. While I was confused by her actions, she sluggishly stood up and bowed her small head. Well then, its about time I slept for real. Senpai, see you again. (Siesta) O-Oh, that was quite sudden. Ehgood night. (Hind) Yes. Good night. (Siesta) Leaving those words behind, she logged out while waving her hand. Her actions left some questions behindbut oh well. Since I was alone now, I concentrated on sewing. I believe it was five minutes after that? Since I heard calm steps, I raised my head and saw Riizu who had logged in and she sat down next to me. She removed her hat and placed it on top of her lap. Hind-san. (Riizu) Oh. How did it go? Marking your own tests. (Hind) The reason Rise took longer than me to log in was because she was marking the trial tests on her own room. She would take out the parts that she didnt get rightand guess what her grade was roughly. Yes. There werent many issues with them. (Riizu) When she says that there werent any issues, she meant that she got perfect marks after allshes too good, she doesnt have any competition at this point. There was a period of time where I was burning with competitiveness against my little sister, but I was no match for her. Right now, Im just a brother thats trying to help his little sister in her path of pursuing knowledge. Hang in there Riseyou are number one. I see, glad to hear that. Good work. (Hind) Ahfufu (Riizu) I lightly placed my hand on top of her head without reservation, in order to hide her bashfulness she concealed her face with her hat. Like that, she proceed to bring her body closer. Just when I was thinking that it was fine to let her do it just for today, Riizu brought her face really close to mine and glared at me intensely. Hind-san. (Riizu) W-What is it? (Hind) Theres the smell of another woman coming from Hind-sans body. (Riizu) What!? (Hind) Riizu, who had said something really weird, suddenly started to draw her nose to my surroundings. Its true that until just a while ago Siesta-chan was close to me, but would that have left any remains of her scent? Kunkunespecially around the area of these thighs (Riizu) Eh!? (Hind) Are you a dog!? You have got to be kidding mehow was she able to tell? Its not like I was guilty of anything and there was no need to hide it, there was no needbut my sixth-sense rang the alarm bells and told me that I shouldnt say anything about it. The current Riizus eyes had lost all their light and they already looked as if you were peering into the abyss. It was scary. In accordance with my sixth-sense, I took out the accessory from my inventory and forcibly put it on Riizus neck. Due to my sudden movement, Riizus eyes showed surprise and she came back to her senses. T-This is? (Riizu) R-Remember? I did make a promise at the start of the event, right? That in exchange for aiming for the event rankings for Yumir, I would make an accessory for Riizu. (Hind) You remembered? Oh, its lovely (Riizu) Since her mage clothes were plain, I chose a tortoiseshell with as bright a color as possible to make a necklace. The color was translucent, it was crimson with a bit of amber and dark brown mixed into it to give form to a unique shade. I thought about making a hair ornament, but I had the fear that it would get hidden once she wore the hat so I settled for the safe choice which was the necklace. Performance wise, it was a first-rate +1 and it increased magic attack by +15, perfect for a mage. Thank you very much! (Riizu) Was it satisfactory? (Hind) Yes! (Riizu) Im glad. Since her expression had brightened up, I felt a sense of relief once light returned to her eyes. Now that Riizu had placed the necklace on her hand and was gazing at it, I should get back to my sewing- However, this and that are different matters you know? (Riizu) Eh (Hind) Right? (Riizu) Yes (Hind) After that, for a short while, Riizu clung onto me and wouldnt let go. At that, it was also in the same posture as Siesta-chanthat is to say, this was the second lap pillow of the day. The pretext was probably to stay like that until she overwrites the previous smell I guess. As a result, I stayed sitting down on the bench like that until Yumir logged in, snapped, and tore her off me. Because of this, it goes without saying that my legs went numb again *Notice* This marks the end of the week of daily releases. Im shifting to the planned Every other day release schedule now so there wont be a release tomorrow. Youll get a double release the day after though. Regarding the NU issues, they should be fixed now, so youll get the updates over there as usual from now on. Chapter 41 - Path and invitation -So the vicinity is apparently like this. (Hind) Since everyone was gathered, we started the meeting to decide which way we should go. The place was the pub in town which we are probably going to make use for the last time today. We ordered a bread and cheese set and recovered our hunger while discussing. The owner looked a bit sad now that the number of people had suddenly decreased. That being said, Im pretty sure new players will reach this town later so he probably wont have that much free time. There are probably many people that will make their guild homes here and their private homes too, so wed be talking about there being only few people outside peak hours. So, what are we doing? The mountains usually are abundant with mineral resources, the islandsI wonder if we could fish there? (Hind) Its possible. Since you are able to buy the lowest-rank fishing rod from shops. (Tobi) I prefer meat to fish! (Yumir) Were we talking about that sort of thing now? (Riizu) We did go a bit off-topic herebut oh well, it wasnt necessarily wrong. The things we can eat will change from now on after all. Even though I say that, we can still just buy stuff from other places through the trading BBS (Hind) I take this is a discussion about what we want to do from now on or what we want to give priority to? (Tobi) Thats right. (Hind) Its as Tobi had said. If you were mainly doing blacksmithing you would definitely go to the mountain area, if you were into stuff like potions and agriculture the woodlands seem like a nice place to go. Then theres the term Empirewe got from the NPCs, in other words, Tobi and I expect it to have a big population. From those expectations, we think that theres very likely that there are unique quests that you get from the NPCs. As long as the national power is not that high, the Emperor probably wont pick a fight with other countries and theres a good balance between the different types of terrain. Giving these conditions, no matter what we decide to do, I feel it will be reasonable. For players that are focusing on fighting monsters here and there, they can also think of the option of heading to the capital. Other than that, theres also the safe choice of staying here for those that are currently hesitating on where they should go. Therefore, as a beginner area, this area is excellent. Making the starting point be within the empire was a good idea. In that case, what about the desert? (Yumir) The desertif I were to be honest, there should be a decent amount of salt and minerals, other than that- (Hind) Oil probably? Theres value in the resources you can find in the desert. (Riizu) It doesnt really fit the atmosphere of the game. Though it would make for good fuel. (Tobi) First off, we wouldnt be able to properly locate and extract it. If we wanted to do it, it would have to be a large-scale operation, so I think its fine if we dont take it into consideration? It would be at the level that if some oil came out we were just lucky. (Hind) So you are saying that compared to the other regions? (Yumir) It would be unfavorable. It would be the opposite of going to the capital, if we go there, there will be fewer players. (Hind) Fumu (Yumir) From the brooding Yumir, I got a slightly bad feeling. If I were to use the words she tends to use, its boring if we do the same stuff thats normally done- In that case, I vote for the desert! As expected, its not interesting if we do the same thing as everyone else! (Yumir) I thought you would say that. (Hind) Nuh? (Yumir) The rest of us exchanged glances and forced a bitter smile. We somehow had the feeling that she would say something like that. After chewing the bread and drinking some water, I turned to face Tobi. What do you think, Tobi? (Hind) To be honest, Im kind of hesitatingif I had to say, there are merits and demerits? So I think that jumping into an unfavorable situation does sound kind of interesting. (Tobi) So you approve of Yumirs idea. You guys are the type that play on the hardest difficulty from the start in offline games after all. The opposite of me. (Hind) Even then, I properly clear them you know? (Tobi) Since I play them my own way I usually run into a wall! At the start of the game at that! (Yumir) Dont go putting on airs, you idiot. So, what about you, Riizu? (Hind) Ill just go whenever Hind-san wishes to go. No matter where, always always close to Hind-san (Riizu) O-Oh. I see. (Hind) Well, my opinion would be the boring option of just playing it safe after all. If theres no place recommended to us, I would just stay in the capital. However, if theres a place they want to go to, theres no reason for me to oppose it. In that case, guess well go to the desert. (Hind) The three of them nodded, we have been able to collect our thoughts smoothly. Like that, we decided to set the desert as our current destination. After that, Yumir, Riizu and Tobi went to buy healing items and food. Meanwhile, I took a trip and went to visit Selene-san. She was still staying in Altrowa, so the distance to go and see her was quite long and a bit troublesome. I want to thank her for everything she has done and I wanted to ask her if she had any plans to move somewhere else after this. Ah, good eveningHind-kun (Selene) Good eveningeh, you dont seem well. Did something happen? (Hind) I went to the blacksmiths workshop, there I saw Selene-san sitting down without doing anything. The fire of the furnace was unusually extinguished and even the wall that usually held many completed products was empty today. Yupthe truth is, I dont have enough of an important material. I dont have enough iron, it might be because turtle type gear is convenient, the players take their time to upgrade their weapons now. Even though their performance is better, Im unable to sell them (Selene) Well thatsin that case, I recommend you to head to the mountain area in the north side. It sounds like its full of mineral resources after all, I believe its perfect for a blacksmith. (Hind) Yup, howeverI, Im still level 5. Thats why, its almost impossible for me to get there with my own strength. (Selene) In that case, if you moved with a proper party- (Hind) I told you that I had a fear of strangers, right!? Its impossible, its scary, I wouldnt know how to talk to them!! (Selene) Ah (Hind) Right. I completely forgot about it since I was able to talk to her normally and our conversations went smoothly. The fact that Selene-san was terrible at talking with strangers. Im sorry. However, the main point is that you feel like you have reached the limits of what you can do here, right? (Hind) Yup, thats right. I thought I would have been able to enjoy the trip from here to the trading BBS more for the time beingbut I didnt think that the supply of materials would stop so fast. Now that it has come down to this, Ill probably have to go and get them myself Since theres no other choice, guess Ill progress solo at my own pace maybe? (Selene) Eh, so regarding the other aspects of the gamelike participating in events or fighting monsters, do you have no interest in them by any chance? Are you the type that only wants to do crafting? (Hind) Not really? Its just that what I like the most is blacksmithingI think that TB is a good game, it might be low on my priority list, but I believe I have tried the other things too. But, why are you asking this? (Selene) I seein that case, I guess its worth asking. In that case, why dont you move to other regions with us? At that, why dont you join the guild we are planning to make? (Hind) Its not like we are making a guild thats focused on crafting, so it was necessary for me to ask like this. There are players that you could say have a no-combat rule and think of fighting as a bonus, but I dont plan to make a guild to fit those kind of people. The party limit in TB is 5 peopleif we added Selene-san to the party, our fighting force will be complete and it would be a matter for congratulations for me. Ehreally? Am I being invited by Hind-kun right now? Or in reality that was for someone thats standing behind me and if I misunderstand here and I react, itll turn into quite the sad- (Selene) Why are you so pessimistic!? No matter where you look, the only people that are here at the moment are Selene-san and me! (Hind) They still havent made more VRX3500, so currently, the number of new players are on a decline. Theres news that theyll resupply before the end of the week, but anyway, Altrowa village is currently deserted. Actually, the only people that are in the blacksmiths workshop are the two of us. Selene-san did a spin within the blacksmiths workshop, opened the shelves that were of a size that a person wouldnt fit in, meaninglessly opened and closed the windows, looked around the workshop one more time and finally pointed at herself. This person, just how little self confidence does she have? When I nodded at her, she finally opened her mouth. Please let me jouiCA-Ah! I slurred! (Selene) P-Please calm down! Its not like Ill do anything to you! (Hind) Wont do anything!? So you mean that you take back what you just said!? (Selene) You are wrong! (Hind) No matter how I look at this, shes way too negative Anyway, I was able to get Selene-sans approval. Chapter 42 - Selene, the archer I waited until Selene-san calmed down and explained our current situation. The members of the party, each of our jobs and regarding the area we plan to head towards. I see, the desert (Selene) Do you dislike it by any chance? In that case, I dont mind if you decline joining our guild now. (Hind) Nope, I dont mind. Rather, there might be rare metals that you cant find in the mountains lying there. (Selene) Ah, thats true. If you thought it like that, the desert is not all that bad. (Hind) Its standard for an RPG, there might be hidden treasure in the desert, right? (Selene) Be it in the real world or games, the fact that there might be treasure hidden in the desert is something thats talked about usually. If there were stuff like pyramids or ancient ruins, itd probably increase the chances that they existed. However, that wont change the fact that its the sort of stuff thats difficult for crafters. Id say especially for those specializing in agriculture. (Hind) However, since we are talking about you here, you probably thought about something right? (Selene) Selene-san looked at me as if she was testing me. Wellhonestly speaking, its not like I dont have a few ideas. Well, more or less. (Hind) As expected of you. In that case, guess I should have high expectations. (Selene) That gives me quite the pressure, though Ill do my best. (Hind) Im happy that Selene-sans back to normal. The rhythmical tempo of this conversation is something I find quite pleasant. Wait, now that I think about it, I had something for her. From my inventory, I took out the armour that I made while my legs were numbthough I should call them clothes and showed them to Selene-san. This is? (Selene) In society, fashionable jumpsuits are still things that are not that well known. So I made this while looking at magazines and the internetwhat do you think about it? (Hind) Eh? By any chance, is this for me? (Selene) Yes. I made this for you. (Hind) Like that time with the invitation, I directly showed my intention to offer this to her as a present. When I saw Selene-san turning red because of those words, even I started to feel slightly embarrassed. Since Selene-san focuses mainly on blacksmithing, there was the option that she would have preferred practical clothes instead of something fancy but She was still wearing the beginner gear Well, even if I talk about it being fashionable, jumpsuits have their limitsbut how about you try it out? (Hind) Y-Yes! (Selene) Compared to a normal jumpsuit, the buttons were engraved and there were things like the collar being sharp and other minor differences. Selene-san opened the inventory and changed her equipment and after a burst of light, what she was wearing changed. The size was made by eyebut it seems like theres no issues. Jumpsuits are that type of deceptive clothing after all. However, how should I say thisSelene-san wearing a jumpsuit is It suits you. This kind of casual clothing. (Hind) T-Thank you? Is that a compliment? (Selene) Theres nothing bad implied when someone tells you that it suits you, right? So, should we put on the belt now? After that, we change the placement of the inventory pouch (Hind) Ah, Yup. Can you make it so the bottom of the neck is slightly more open? It might be a bit tight. (Selene) Yes. Because of its design, it should look good even being worn plainly like that. In fact, its probably better like that. (Hind) Like that, I kept making small adjustments A metallic belt accentuated by a buckle button, while being casual it also gave it a lean look. Yupwhat will she think of it? With this, itll be done. Can you try it out? (Hind) Ah, eh, wheres the mirror!? The mirror! (Selene) Theres none herebut if you open the equipment window, theres a button to look at your current status. Use that. (Hind) Really!? (Selene) Its supposed to be something really basic, but maybe she didnt know because she didnt particularly care about her own equipment? She opened her menu and stared intensely at her herself. At first glance, instead of a blacksmith it makes you look like a mechanic but Ah, I thought it would come in handy for when you do blacksmithing, I tried adding fire resistance to it- (Hind) Yup. Yup! (Selene) How is it? before I was able to ask that, Selene-san firmly grasped my hands. Its an action that reminded me of when we first metI wonder if she has a habit of doing this when shes deeply moved? Thank you, Hind-kun! Im really happy! Its the best present I could ever get! (Selene) No worries, you have helped me out a lot since the first day sooh, and I look forward to working with you from now on. (Hind) Yup, thats what I should I be saying. Im really grateful! (Selene) Selene-san, whose face was blushing from happiness, looked like a pure maiden. However, I wonder if its about time she let goif she keeps grasping my hands this firmly, even I would start feeling embarrassed. After that, Selene-san collected her belongings and stood up from her chair within the blacksmiths workshop. It should be also around the time Yumir and the others are done with their respective things. Well then, shall we go meet everyone else? (Hind) Once I said that, Selene-san started to act all weird. She started to move both hands around in a panic. W-What should I do!? I-I got to prepare a box of cakes! (Selene) You are going to meet fellow players there, wouldnt that be weird? (Hind) Eh? Ah, you are right (Selene) Lets go normally, normally. (Hind) Uuwill it be fine? Will they think Im weird? (Selene) While keeping the uneasy Selene-san company, we left Altrowas blacksmiths workshop and headed towards Heathrow. In order to get her to catch up in level even a bit sooner, I partied up with her and we defeated as many monsters as we could on the way. Selene-sans job was archer and she specialized in crossbows. Her weapon was called Qaws al-rijl . To load a crossbow bolt, you use your foot to hold the stirrup to the ground, grasp the bowstring, and draw it towards the trigger mechanism by straightening up and using your entire body to pull, with the stirrup holding the crossbow in place. Once the bowstring has been caught by the trigger mechanism, you lift the crossbow up and place the bolt in position, and aim and fire as usual. Its also called Foot-drawn bow. Even among that type its especially big and the arrows it shoots are also quite big. I handled it before and since the system makes it lighter depending on your offensive stats, it was quite light. I guess being able to actually use weapons like this is also part of the games charm. Usually, loading one of these bolts would be very hard for a girl. Among rearguards, archers have the highest strength so its possible for a girl to use big bows or crossbows. It seems that because Selene-sans level is low she can barely use the Qaws al-rijlbut that should get better soon enough. From seeing this, imagining a high level heavy warrior girl brandishing a big axethat kind of image is easily imaginable. Having left the village, we came out of Dondery Forest and continued at a good pace. As a result, by the time we passed through the middle of the Homa Plains she reached level 10 and it was time for her to choose a skill branch. While walking, Selene-san opened her menu and tilted her head while thinking about how to distribute her skill points. As expected, I guess the single shot type is fine? (Selene) I guess theres no need to hesitate. Since you are using a crossbow, it takes time to load a bolt. You like that type of weapon right? (Hind) Yup. I made it a bit too big, but its more fun to use than a bow. Besides, it feels much lighter now than when I was level 5I guess theres nothing to worry about. In that case, Ill take blast arrow. (Selene) Among archer types, the Rapid-fire type that Cineraria-chan chose with skills like arrow rain is the one thats most popular. Even if your aim is bad, if you want stability as an archer, theres no problems in choosing this type to be able to deal some damage. Theres another one that lets you equip a short dagger simultaneously and they learned martial art type skills, the Close quarters type. As a matter of fact, it was the romantic type. It was the hardest to gauge the distance with, but it looked the best when it finished the target with its skills. Furthermore, the damage it deals was nothing to scoff at either. Therefore, it was the romantic type. Then there was the type that prioritized a single strike that Selene-san chose, the Single shot type. It was the last type for the archers. Compared to the other types, its got bigger skills but the rate of fire decreases and you need to have good aim. By the way, what about your eyesight? I was worrying because you wore glasses but I was surprised when your aim was so perfect. (Hind) Ah, you mean this? The truth is I have hyperopiasince I was young I trained my eyesight, in reality I dont need to wear glasses anymore. However, I cant calm down if Im not wearing them. (Selene) In other words, those are just for show? (Hind) Thats right. Actually, my eyesight is better than 20/20. The lenses used for hyperopia are convex ones, your eyes will appear to be bigger than they are. (Selene) I see (Hind) I see, hyperopia huh Since she hadnt missed a single arrow until now I found it strange. Gaaaaaahhhhhhhh!! !! Ah, rightI forgot. (Hind) Eh, what? What was that scream just now? (Selene) I was surprised for a moment because of the sudden scream, but when I checked our current position, I saw that we had already walked into the north area. Regarding the area boss, itll appear if someone in the party hasnt beaten it yet. Since Selene-san hasnt gone to another village or town other than Altrowa Goooaaahhh!! It struck violently with its club. The area boss of Homa plains, the Ogre made its appearance, it was level 15 and this was the third time it had appeared in front of me. This time we dont have a single vanguardbut since theres a level difference between us, will I be able to make it work somehow? *Announcement* Now that we are back on schedule I thought it would be a good time to announce this. Ill be making adding a link to the patreon page at the end of the chapters from now on. If you enjoy the series and want to support me, feel free to head there and make a pledge to gain access to an extra chapter from now on. More details over there. For the time being, every update from now on will be a single chapter. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy the chapters. Chapter 43 - Deadly bolt Facing the ogre in front of us with its menacing roar, I stood in front of Selene-san as if to protect her. There werent many options for a party of two. Taking into account Selene-sans job, I didnt hesitate to go to the front. Selene-san! Ill act as apseudo-vanguard, so Ill leave my back to you. His weak point is his head! (Hind) Eh, is it going to be fine? Isnt your job Shinto priest? (Selene) Leave it to me. Even though Im a rearguard, Im over level 30. Ill show you that I can endure his strikes! (Hind) I plunged into the gigantic ogre that was three times my height. Uwah, even though its the first boss, hes quite scary when you get close. Even in VR you can feel its intimidation aura and killing intent, so my legs were unconsciously trembling in fear. Since Tobi and Yumir face this kind of thing, it made me realize just how much courage the people that act as vanguards have. If I stayed as a rearguard, Id have never known how it felt. Come, ogre! Throw away that club and come at me! (Hind) Gaaah!! Uwah! (Hind) Well, there was no way he would throw it away, right!? Theres no way a barbarous ogre would understand what a person is saying. I somehow dodged the strike and at the same time I did, I cast Guard up on myself. Once I cast it, in front of me the next attack was coming and I barelyalright, I made it! That was close! (Hind) I dodged his successive strikes. I dont know when Ill eat a hit, but this should probably make it so I can endure a couple strikes. This time I cast the support spell Attack up on Selene-san, who was loading a bolt. Thanks, Hind-kun! (Selene) In doing so, even though it was just for a split second, it probably had been a bad idea to show my back to the ogre. Sharp pain ran through my back, when I realized, I saw how my HP had decreased by 1/3. I think its far better than being blown away but -Tsk! That hurts you bastard! (Hind) I stabbed him continuously with my staff in an act of anger. Daaaaaaaaaaah!! (Hind) 28, 33, 27, 29, 31, 30. I thrust at the ogre six consecutive times, but each successful hit only dealt a sad amount of about 30 damage. The damage I dealt didnt even amount to 180 and the Ogres HP is roughly 3000. Yup, its impossible. Are they telling me to hit it over a 100 times? Developers, please give Shinto priest more damage. Guaaa!! Adah! (Hind) No good, my HP! My HP went under 50% and I started to cast Healing in a panic. The advantages of lower tier spells is that their cast time is short so I immediately recovered around 20% of my HP. However, since I did it in a panic I misjudged the timing of the ogres attack and was too late to react to his movements. His club appeared in front of my eyes and the moment it looked like I was going to hit by the second strike- GohGah!? ! (Hind) A thick crossbow bolthad pierced the Ogres chest very deeply. The hit staggered the ogre and I successfully avoided the strike by a hairs breadth. The damage displayed was 708, it was extraordinary when there was no skill used. Sorry, I missed! Ill finish him off with the next one, so endure for 10 seconds! (Selene) Understood! (Hind) Selene-san started loading the next bolt. Thinking about it, its a one of a kind weapon made by a top class blacksmith, theres no way it would be weak. Since the I missed she just said right now probably meant I failed to hit its weak point, I knew they were reassuring words coming from an archer. The ogre tried to attack Selene-san because she dealt a big amount of damage to him so I blocked his path and tried to get aggro from him. I cast Attack up on myself and attacked the ogre with basic attacks and Shiningalright, I was able to somehow make it look this way. The ogre started attacking me again. A second strike, a third one and when the fourth one managed to graze my arm, dry wind blew violently on my back. When I sensed that a skill was being used, I guarded against the ogres fifth attack on purpose to stop him. The impact was transmitted to both of my arms that were holding the staff and my HP was shaved. I dont have much HP leftbut I should have stopped his movements with this! Shoot! -Tsk! (Selene) Selene-san clenched her teeth and activated Blast arrow. With striking speed, the bolt cut through the air and it hit the ogre straight in the cranium. The damage displayed was 3834. It was completely overkill. His head was splendidly blown away and I could see a bit of a bright re-wait, thats gross! I didnt want to see more so I turned my eyes away from there. While spraying blood, the gigantic body fell over after having lost its strength. However, it was in my direction. Wa-Wait, you got to be kidding me! (Hind) When I realized, the ogres body weight was already leaning on me and I was unable to push it away with my staff. This only happened because I was absent mindedly looking at where the bolt went. I hurriedly let go of my staff and jumped towards the ogres legs while holding my head. With my HP, if I get crushed by it Ill definitely die! I dont want to die and resurrect in that way! As if my prayers were heard, the ogres body scattered before reaching the ground. It turned into particles of light and I was able to narrowly escape death As a result, I ended up in a very uncool posture, so I hurriedly picked up my staff and stood up. Then I returned to where Selene-san was acting as if nothing had happened- Good work, Hind-kun. EhI cant say that it was very cool but- (Selene) I know, I already knowplease dont say anything (Hind) I wished she didnt touch on that topicit was quite the disgraceful sight. Thanks to this experience, I know very well that I lack the ability to keep calm when going to the front. Basically, I get too flustered. I dont have enough guts or courage. I knew that already, but it seems like I lack the aptitude to be a vanguard. H-However, when you stopped that attack, your fighting spirit was transmitted to me. Shoot now! Kinda like that. I put more energy into it unconsciously. (Selene) Thanks for that (Hind) Without any doubt, those words referred to that splendid attack. *Pyron*. I thought Selene-san was a companion with bad motor skills like me, but shes unexpectedly high spec *Pyron*. No, now that I think about it, her running and walking speed is not that fast so I guess its just limited to shooting. *Pyron*. After surpassing the handicap that is hyperopia, it seems like she has extraordinarily good eyes after all. *Pyron*. *Pyron*. Daah! So noisy! (Hind) !? Why are you saying that so suddenly!? (Selene) Ah, Im sorry. The mails just didnt stop coming. (Hind) The ringtone of the mails can only be heard by the recipient after all. After telling Selene-san I checked who the sender was, all five of them were from Yumir. I didnt take a look at the contents and just closed the menu while sighing. Are you sure? (Selene) With this pattern, shes probably urging me to come back already. Since we are about to get there, lets ignore them and go. (Hind) O-Ok. What do I do, Im getting nervous (Selene) Now now. Youll do just fine. (Hind) After coming out of the Homa plains, Heathrow town was in front of our eyes. Yumir and the others were gathered in a spacious space in front of the fountain and their presence was so strong you could immediately see them from far away. The grade of their looks were high after allthe players surrounding them were passing by shyly and there were many that were taking glances at them. Since Tobi stopped wearing his veil outside combat, that place was now full of beauties. If I didnt know them, I would probablyfeel awkward getting close to such a group. While thinking such useless things, I kept walking with Selene-san and Yumir raised her hand when she noticed me. Oh, Hind. You are finally here! I was getting tired of waiting! (Yumir) Yup, I just came back. Were you able to buy what I asked for? (Hind) There were no issues buying food and healing items. We are ready to depart at any time. (Riizu) Just as Hind-dono instructed, we bought more than enough so there would be some surplus. Ill proceed to hand over your part of- (Tobi) Ah, wait a moment. Before thateh, hmm? (Hind) Just when I thought about introducing Selene-san, I couldnt see the girl that was supposed to be behind me. When I moved my line of sight to look for herah, there she is! She was hiding behind that treewhen I took her hand and tried to bring her along, she started shaking her head. Like a whismur she tried to tell me something in a small voice. Eh, what did you just say?Its embarrassing? You might not be able to speak properly?I understand. In that case, Ill talk in your place, so dont worry about it-Eh? Its fine. (Hind) I didnt think she would be this bad with strangers. I wasnt considerate enough Besides, I guess their looks are no good either. They pointlessly shine after all. She did say that she gets even more nervous when she talks with someone beautiful, so if I took that into consideration I could have seen this coming. Nu? Who is that, Hind? That girl. (Yumir) That doesnt matter, its not about who she is. More importantly, why are you sticking to Hind-sans back? Depending on what you say I might not be able to forgive you (Riizu) !? (Selene) Ri-Riizu-dono, calm down. Hind-dono, who is this? (Tobi) Because of Riizus threat, it seems like the teary eyed Selene-san wanted to say something to her so I brought my ear closer to her mouth. Hmm, I seewell, I guess theres no choice but to have her get used to it over timethey are not bad people after all. First of all, I have to introduce Selene-san to these three. This person is Selene-san. My blacksmithing teacher, shes also the benefactor that made the meteo greatsword we used in the event with me. You should be grateful, especially you Yumir. (Hind) Oh, is that so! We already sold that sword, but it had incredible power! Furthermore, the fact that I got the aura was also thanks to you then. Thank you! and, even though I already knew your name, today is the first time we met right? Pleased to meet you! (Yumir) Yumir wanted a handshake while giving a radiant smile. Selene-san timidly took out her hand from behind me and while she was nervous, she managed to shake her hand. At times like this, Im thankful for Yumirs ability to read the atmosphere and her pushiness and honest attitude. It might be because that action had dispeled a bit of her nervousness, Selene-san whispered in my ear again. Ahyes. Selene-san is saying this. Im extremely shy in front of strangers so I apologize if I do anything rude. My player name is Selene. Pleased to meet youor so she says. (Hind) Well, you sure brought someone odd with you againah, I apologize. My name is Tobi. (Tobi) Im Riizu. However Hind-san, why did you bring her here with this timing? I mean, you could have brought her once we had made the guild home and settled down (Riizu) Well, I wasnt really introducing her as just a blacksmith (Hind) I paused there for just a second. With the exception of Riizu who seemed to be quite sullen, Yumir and Tobi accepted Selene-san. I think itll be fine if I say it like thisprobably. The truth is, I was thinking about having Selene-san set up the guild with us. (Hind) Eh? What do you mean by that Hind-san? (Riizu) It means just that. Ill have her join our party like this, and well aim for the desert as five. I already got her approval, the rest will depend on you. So, what do you think? (Hind) When they heard my words, Yumir, Riizu and Tobis faces stiffened. What kind of faces are you guys even making? Eh!? Was it that surprising!? Due to the three of them raising their voices, Selene-san, who was behind me, started trembling. Chapter 44 - New party member and crossing the border Selene-san was still hiding behind my back, but the conversation progressed As for Yumir, there was that case with the greatsword, so she was ready to accept her into the party. Tobi welcomed having more girls in the party so in his case he also consented to having her join us. To begin with, you guysif you werent going to oppose it, why were you surprised in that exaggerated waywell, its true that it was my fault for not telling them anything before the fact. This only leaves Riizu, who seemed reluctant, even when she asked me why, I was unable to give her a firm answer. Even now, she was staring daggers at Selene-san. Just as I was thinking that, she got closer to Selene-san and picked up her glasses. With movements fast enough that I was unable to react to them. Kyah! (Selene) What are you doing!? Give them back! (Hind) (Riizu) Having lost her unfashionable glasses, she now stared at Selene-sans face. When she did, Riizu made a cruel unpleasant face. After that she returned the glasses, but this time she started to touch Selene-sans body in a rude manner. Iiii! S-Stop- (Selene) Other than Riizu and the victim Selene-san, no one was able to react. After staring dumbfounded for several seconds, having returned to my senses the fastest, I yelled at Yumir. Hah!? Y-Yumir, stop her! (Hind) -O-Oh! Leave it to me! So you finally have gone mad, huh!? (Yumir) In a panic, Yumir tried to stop Riizu. While she did that, I pulled Tobi, who still had his mouth wide open and turned him around. The sight was poison to a mans eyes. I waited until the commotion died down and turned to look again. What I saw was Selene-san with her cheeks flushed and her clothes disordered. In front of her was Riizu with an indignant face and Riizu was being pinioned by Yumir. What did just happen? Riizuwhat are you doing? (Hind) I apologize. However, there was something I had to ascertain no matter what. (Riizu) Hah!? I get the feeling Ive just seen an incredible view!? (Tobi) That was just a dream, forget about it. (Hind) It was also for Selene-sans sake. So, what was it? That thing you had to ascertain. (Hind) Thats a secret. However, I got to understand that they are better than Yumir-sans. As a result, Ill leave my disapproval of her joining. (Riizu) Ah? I dont get it, but are you making fun of me? (Yumir) Its the opposite, I believe she was complimenting you while comparing you to meah. (Selene) Eh? Selene-san finally opened her mouth even though she was still in that state. We all gathered our sights on her in shock and this time she looked away embarrassed. Hey, arent you talking normally now? (Yumir) Eh, ah, eh. (Selene) You dont have to be that afraid. Its not like we are going to eat you. (Tobi) E-Eh. (Selene) I apologize, Selene-san. My little sister made you go through that (Hind) D-Dont worry about it. I can kind of understand thewell, I can guess the reason she did it. (Selene) Selene-san, right? What you have in mindis fine if you say it, but I hope you are prepared for whats coming if you do. (Riizu) Against Riizus smile, Selene-san nodded her head countless times. Then she took a deep breath and she looked a bit calmer than what she had been before. It seems like she has made up her mind. I-Ill say it againIm Selene. My job is archer and I mainly do blacksmithing. Everyone, Im looking forward to working with you (Selene) Alright, she said it! Even though it was just this, I was really as happy as if I had done it myself. H-Hind-kun. Why are you fist bumping? (Selene) Dont mind me. (Hind) It was like a parent bird watching his daughter leave the nest. Though Selene-san was older than me. After that, they all unanimously showed they welcomed the addition and we all welcomed our new party member. Selene-san was still acting a bit awkwardlybut lets hope that fixes itself over time. Seems like she cant really look at people in the eye but shes able to hold a conversation. However, those were some drastic measures you took there Riizu. Thanks to you, it seems like Selene-sans nervousness was dispelled. Though it was quite forceful. (Hind) When I said that, Riizu didnt change her expression but she did look like she was slightly thinking about something. Hmm? By any chance, did I say something strange? I thought that her actions just now were done expecting it to end like this. Yes, that was what I was aiming for. So, Hind-san understood my actions. (Riizu) I dont know how to explain it, but wasnt it strange? (Yumir) I agree. Riizu-dono is not that kind-cough cough! (Tobi) I-Isnt that a bit too dense of you, Hind-kun?Its not like you. Do you have like a little sister filter? (Selene) Eh, Riizu is saying that it was like that thoughis it not like that!? Since we settled down, I received the things they bought from Tobi. Once that was done, it was finally time to depart. It was currently 10 pm. The plan is to log out after 2 hours, but how much well be able to progress in the remaining time? Alright, lets go everyone! (Yumir) Why is Yumir-san taking the lead? (Riizu) Im looking forward to them, those unknown fields! (Tobi) Hind-kun, about the position I should take during battle (Selene) (Hind) However, our current party was a complete mess. I was slightly worried about our future. We exited through the western side of Heathrow and we arrived at Latera lake shore, the place we visited yesterday. Regarding the area boss called Gigantic buffalo, theres not much to say about that. Being a monster that Yumir and me already defeated with Siesta-chan and the others aside, Selene-san had firepower that didnt make it seem like there was that much of a difference in levels between them. With five of us, we were able to defeat it without much problem. If I had to talk about something that did happen, it would be that Tobi obstructed Selene-sans line of fire and received a bolt in the buttocks. It was instant death. Regarding this lack of coordination, I believe itll get better over time. Once we came out of Latera lake shore, we found a highway that was well maintained and walked parallel to that. The path continued between mountains and we could see up ahead, something that looked like a checkpoint. There wasnt much green on the mountains and we could feel the temperature rising as we kept walking. Seems like the information saying that theres a desert up ahead wasnt false after all. Having arrived at the checkpoint, we saw that the gate was open so we tried to just go through it- Stop right there! Show me the permit for leaving the country! Once we tried to, a guard stopped us. Well, if you thought about it, this was normal. I somehow thought that since it was a game they would let us through. It was just my imagination though. Yumir who was at the front tilted her head. Permit to leave the country? Whats that? (Yumir) I made Yumir step back and showed her that Id be talking with them instead. The guard that talked while standing still, was a middle aged man wearing an eye-patch on one eye. Somehow, he looked like a soldier that had gone through many battles, thats the feeling he gave. No, we dont have one. Where can we get said permit? (Hind) Hmm? Are you guys those so called visitors? Thats the case but (Tobi) In that case, wait right there! Hear me? Dont you dare do anything unnecessary! Once he said that, the guard with the eyepatch ordered another guard to stand watch. Then, he entered what looked like a building for the security guards. After some time passed, he came outside holding some kind of crystal. All of you, touch this crystal one by one. We didnt know what this was all about, but we all obediently touched the crystal like he had instructed. The clear crystal emitted a blue light whenever we touched it. Once the guard saw that he said You can all pass through. I see, I can sort of guess what sort of device this crystal is. I had some interest in it and there was nothing to lose, so I asked the guard. Do you mind if I ask you a question? (Hind) What is it? As you can see, Im free. I dont mind. Since his tone was harsh I thought that he would refuse, but that doesnt seem to be the case. Like he had said, I couldnt see anyone coming apart from us. What I was interested in was the number of players that went to the desert. Other than that, about the country called the empire, the stance they had regarding the visitors. I believe visitors can become part of the empires military strength. Without keeping an eye on them, is it really fine to just let them go outside the country like this? (Hind) Im not sure what the strength of a player is compared to that of an NPC, but the number of players is big. I dont think theyd be useless as military strength. What, so it was about that? Our majesty is very friendly. He stated that even if someone went to another country temporarily, they wouldnt have as many rich lands as the empire so they will eventually come back. Visitors are no exception to that. Thats quite the self-confidence to have (Hind) Seems like the emperor is quite the big hearted person. Well, even if he let us go, the starting point for players is the empire. As long as nothing much happens, the fact that a big amount of players will stay in the empire wont change. If you asked me, I dont understand why people like you would go to dangerous lands on purpose. Especially the desert area to the west. The visitors that pass through here, cant be compared in number to the ones that pass through other bordersyou sure have strange tastes. So you are saying that oddballs like Yumir-san and Tobi-san are in the minority, right? (Riizu) Riizu threw that sarcastic remark but Yumir and Tobi acted as if they didnt care. In fact, they looked happy at the fact that they were being called weird. Isnt it fine. Im OK with being part of the minority! We follow our own path! (Yumir) Yeah yeah! D-degozaru! (Tobi) Yes, Im so envious of their positive attitudeif it was me, Id probably have gone to the mountain. (Selene) This is called being reckless. Well, leaving that aside (Hind) As expected, the number of players that go through here is not high. Thats why they left the crystal somewhere where they could get it right away. That crystal is probably a device to distinguish between players. I saw it emit a white glow when the guard touched it slightly. Regarding the color of that light, I believe it corresponds to the color of the player name on top of our heads. Since it seems like NPCs cant see the player name on top of the players, so instead, they use the crystal to do it. Probably players with a yellow name due to having a past criminal record, wont get permission to pass. In that regard, they cant really pass through the country unless they go through the border. huhits quite troublesome. In any case, that has nothing to do with us. I thanked the guard with the eyepatch and informed him that we were leaving and we safely passed through the gate. Immediately after passing through the gate, a scenery that looked as if it came from another world spread out before our eyes. Uwahits all light brown (Hind) It all turned reddish brown. (Riizu) We siblings murmured our thoughts. The whole surface was light brown and there was close to no green. Even though I say that, this was still not the desert. What was in front of us was a scenery that would be more appropriate to call it a Wasteland. The dry wind brought a sense of loneliness with it and it blew up a cloud of dust in front of us. *End of the chapter* Chapter 45 - Journey through the wastelands and taking a step forward From what that guard said, there seems to be a town northwest of that valley. (Hind) Just as he said, its quite the big valley. It might be impossible to cross on our own. (Selene) A little bit ahead of the checkpoint, there was a big rift. The valley was quite wide and the wasteland stretched out far and wide. If we wanted to go to the town that the guard mentioned, we had to cross this big bridge on the valley. Ooh, its so deep! Tobi, want to try jumping down!? (Yumir) No way! What are you even saying so suddenly!? (Tobi) First off all, I dont think wed be able to save him if he fell down theretheres no doubt that he would die from fall damage after all. I wonder what Yumir and Tobi were happy about, they were happily looking at the valley. Me and Riizu were getting a bit depressed because of this situation. Other than this valley, we couldnt see anything else in the vicinity after allthe ground was just infertile. This atmosphere is straight out of a western film (Selene) Though there are no guns here. There seems to be horses though. (Hind) Ah, I saw them too. There were quite a few tied at the stable right? Though I havent seen them actually run- (Selene) Selene-san suddenly stopped talking and awkwardly looked at Riizu. (Riizu) You see, I-Im sorry Riizu-chan. For talking with just the two of us. (Selene) ?? Im not angry though? I hope that your fear of strangers is cured. You want it to be cured, right? (Riizu) Y-Yup! Though I may be causing you trouble (Selene) Dont worry about it. I might not be able to follow enthusiast topics like Hind-san, but Im fine with any other topics. I wont think that you are weird, so feel free to speak to me. (Riizu) -!! T-Thank you very much! (Selene) After hearing Riizus words, Selene-san brought her face closer to my ear. What is it? Like you said, deep down shes really kind. Riizu-chan (Selene) Thats right. Though shes misunderstood easily. (Hind) Shes a little sister Im proud of, when they praise her I get happy as if I was the one being praised. Her normal gestures and tone makes her look cold, so people just get the wrong idea about her. The reason shes like that with Tobi and Yumir is because she has known them for a long time and theres a big amount of tolerance and trust built. I wish you stopped talking secretly in front of me though? (Riizu) Ah, Im sorry! (Selene) Well, its not like Im angry. This is the second time Im saying this you know? These words. (Riizu) Ahfufu, you are right. (Selene) After that, the three of us engaged in idle talk, since our hunger gauges had decreased I decided to start cooking. Since Riizu and Selene-san helped me, we were done quite fast. Even though I say that, they were just simple sandwiches with ham and lettuce. I didnt have the time to spread the ingredients evenly thoughwait, the moment I put them in, it changed into a sandwich that looked like it had been there for a while. Well, Im fine with things being simplified. With this, our light meal was done. Hey, come back both of you! We made some sandwiches, lets proceed once we have eaten them! Yumir, leave dropping Tobi for later. (Hind) Got it, Ill leave it for later! (Yumir) Wait a moment! Stop talking as if its fine if you dont do it now! (Tobi) First off we have to recover from our hunger. Once thats done, well proceed until midnight. Today Id like to get at least to the first town. Thats what I was thinking but Isnt the public safety too bad!? (Hind) Hyahahaha! Leave the food and water behind! If you take out your valuables we might let you get away! Hyaa! Seems like theres more bandits than monsters! An endless group of hyahahs forced us into a battle of attrition. What do we do Hind!? We are not making any progress! (Yumir) We have no other choice but to endure! Theres no place to hide after all! We have to persevere! (Hind) These guys, their body odor is terrible! They stink! (Tobi) (Riizu) H-Hind-kun! Riizu-chan is kicking them in the crotch with an unconcerned look and looks scary! Shes even plucking their mohawks! Shes being more violent than the bandits! (Selene) Even if you tell me that, unfortunately, the number of enemies is too much. I dont have enough leeway to bother with small details. I dont know how many of them there really are, but no matter how many we beat, theres no end to them. Reluctantly, we can just retaliate for now. After that we focused on dealing with them. Our diminishing items and this pace that was out of my control. I was starting to get even more irritatedno, that probably wasnt only me. The bandits werent strong individually. If it was something like striking with the back of the blade or going easy on someone, those were easy to do inside the game as long as you kept it in mind. In this situation, no matter how we attack them, they wont die. However, they are persistent, noisy and vulgar, which makes them three times as unpleasant and this made it so our minds were gradually worn out. And then, finally You guys, why are you taking so long!? There are just five of them, crush them already and take their valuables! Boss! We are sorry! After beating close to 100 bandits, he finally appeared. Its youuuuu!!! (Hind) Doruaaaaaa! (Yumir) Fall down from your horse!! D-degozaru! (Tobi) (Riizu) Ah, Ehthere. (Selene) In order to come to grips with our anger. The five of us struck the bandit groups boss that foolishly appeared riding a horse. Since his subordinates had already lost their nerves, it was easy enough for us to get close to the boss. Moh!? B-Boss!? And we easily captured him. After seeing that, the subordinates started running away and scattered. It was a long battle. After tying the bandits boss with a rope, we placed him on the horse and I pulled the reins. He had lost consciousness so he was quiet. However, I get the feeling we have advanced quite a bit while fighting. Where are we currently at? (Hind) If the distance the guard at the border said was correct, I believe well reach the town soon. (Selene) I seeSelene-san, are you OK? (Hind) Ah, yup. Im a bit tired, but Im still fine. (Selene) (Riizu) Since Selene-san is not used to fighting yet, she seems to have accumulated more fatigue than the other members. On top of that, she had changed her environment suddenly from her usual blacksmith workshop. This might be a game but VR is a special case. As expected, theres a need to play the game so that fatigue doesnt remain once you return to the real world. We might have paced ourselves wrong today For next time, lets think about going at a pace that suits Selene-san. They are late, Yumir-san and Tobi-san. (Selene) You are right. I did tell them that they shouldnt really go that far though. (Hind) While we were taking care of the boss, we asked Yumir and Tobi, who seemed to have a surplus of energy, to scout the area. I think it should be about time they got back though Ah, there they are. I saw the figure of two people running towards us while waving their hands. Hind, there was one! A town! (Yumir) Really!? (Hind) Its just a bit further! Lets go fast! (Tobi) Im glad, if we can get to the town, well be able to safely log out. You are able to log out whenever you want in TB, but its hard to log in at the same time as your friends, I heard that there are times where you log in and are surrounded by monsters that had just respawned. Taking that into consideration, unless its an emergency, its way safer to log out inside a town. Selene-san, Riizu, lets go. (Hind) Yes. (Riizu) Im glad. To be honest, its a relief. (Selene) While being guided by Yumir and Tobi, we proceeded through the wastelands full of sandstorms. After some minutes, we could see a speck in the horizon that looked like a town. The town was formed with box shaped buildings red in color, they suited the place. Town in the wastelands, Baska, seems like this town is called that. It seemed like the public safety wasnt that good, but there seems to be some guards. Because we explained our fight with the bandits at the entrance, we were taken to the guard station. Seems like they were a big bandit group that attacked travellers and merchants that passed through the border, since we handed their boss over, we received quite the reward for it. Maybe the number of bandits in the group rose up this much because players usually dont come here? If we thought of this as a game, theres the possibility of that happening. Its probably set so that players influence has a big impact on things like that. Anyway, after going through various procedures, we decided to log out in a high-end residential area inside the town. We decided to meet up the next day at 10pm, and break up for the night- Ah, Hind-kun (Selene) Hmm? Selene-san. Are you not going to log out now? (Hind) Yes, I wanted to thank you. (Selene) Thank me? (Hind) Immediately after the other three logged out, Selene-san started talking to me. What is this about? I get the feeling I should be the one thanking her, but I dont remember doing anything to be thanked for. Thanks for taking me out of that blacksmiths workshop. If it wasnt for you saying those words, Im sure Id be (Selene) (Hind) Ah, this is probably a serious talk. I got serious and listened to what Selene-san had to say. I initially started playing VR games to heal my fear of strangers, but I never had the courage to take the first step. There were other blacksmiths that found my skills promising and talked to me, but I got scared (Selene) To think that she was thinking this deeply about her troubles. Im quite angry at myself for inviting her with such shallow feelings. Taking that into consideration, wasnt the way I introduced her to Yumir and the rest bad? Wasnt it too insensitive of me? Im sorry. I didnt think that much about it, I (Hind) No no, in the end, the one that decided to go with you was me. Besides, Im very timidthe way that you were slightly forceful and came vigorously to meI was very happy about that. (Selene) If you say it like that, Ill feel less regretful. Were you really not reluctant to come with us? (Hind) I wasnt. On the contrary- (Selene) Selene-san cut her words there. After hesitating for a bitshe was blushing for some reason and said this. Y-You see, what Im about to do now might be because I still cant gauge the sense of distance between people and it also might be something that Hind-kun dislikes. However, if I dont do this I wont be able to express my feelings, eh, you see, I mean- (Selene) I-I see. (Hind) What should I do? For some time now, I have been unable to understand what Selene-san is saying. I was quite perplexed at the words that didnt sound like hersuddenly, I felt something warm on my cheek. Selene-sans face without her glasses on, slowly became more distant. Eh? W-Well then, see you tomorrow! Good night, Hind-kun! (Selene) Eh? Ah, good night (Hind) Selene-san logged out and I was the only one left after that. For a few minutes, I stood there dumbfounded and unable to move while pressing down on my cheek. Chapter 46 - Weekday lunch and idle talk (Wataru) Hey, Wacchi. Whats wrong with you today? Youve been absent-minded all day. (Shuuhei) What happened last night had been etched in my eyes. If I let my mind wander, that scene repeated over and over in my head. Selene-sans lipsthey were soft Hes not even reacting! Hey, Wacchi. Im hungry already. Hey (Shuuhei) !! Ah, what is it, Shuuhei? Did something happen? (Wataru) What are you even saying? Its lunch time, lunch time. Lets go eat already. (Shuuhei) A-Ah. (Wataru) Is it lunch time already? I cant remember the contents of the lessons Once I noticed, inside the class there werent many people and it was deserted. In our school there are not many students that eat inside the classroom, so my classmates probably already took their lunch and left the classroom. I took out two bentos from my bag and headed towards the courtyard with Shuuhei. Oh, Wataru. Wheres my bento? (Miyu) Oh. Here. (Wataru) I gave a bento to Miyu, who had arrived first. Since we are in different classrooms, who arrives first depends on the day. Shes alone today huhthere are times when girls cling onto Miyu and lunch gets lively when they do. It was normal for her, I sat down on a bench surrounded by Zelkova trees and opened my own bento. Hmm? EhI forgot to put in chopsticks. (Wataru) Eh? What are you doing, Wacchi? Whats wrong with you today? It was unusual for Rise-chan to send me an e-mail. (Shuuhei) Rise sent you one? What did she say? (Wataru) That you had been acting weird since last night, so I had to keep an eye on you. (Shuuhei) Is that so? (Wataru) -No good no good, I have to get a grip. I cant become an hindrance on Rises studies. She has been able to get into a prep school after working so hard, it would be bad if she started worrying about unnecessary things. However, I did plan to put in chopsticks properly though. Shuuhei is bringing his own bento today, seems like lately his mother hasnt been in a bad mood. Now that I think about it, a while back I did find Shuuheis mom in the supermarket by coincidence when I was buying things. She thanked me saying that since he had started playing with us, his lifestyle has turned for the better, but I was slightly troubled about how I should have replied to her. How should I say this, we are only playing together after all Ah, more importantly the chopsticksin this case I should go to the cafeteria. If I ask auntie, shell probably lend me some. I left the bento on the bench and stood up. Sorry, Ill go get some from the cafeteria so eat before me. Do you have yours, Miyu? (Wataru) Mine had them. (Miyu) I see. In that case, Ill be back soon. (Wataru) I started walking while the sunlight was pouring onto the courtyard. Hah, today is quite hot. Only forgetting his, in a sense, its a failure thats so like WacchiMiyucchi, since this is quite the chance, why dont you feed him with those chopsticks? (Shuuhei) Wha!? (Miyu) Just before I left the courtyard, I heard Shuuheis scream from being hit in the back with all her strength. Thats because you said unnecessary things I was delayed because I met some people I knew in the cafeteria, but I was able to successfully get some chopsticks. When I returned to the courtyard, I saw that Miyu and Shuuhei were waiting for me without having touched their bentos. I thanked them and sat down, then we opened our bentos again. Yup, its so so. (Wataru) Its so gooooood!! (Miyu) Miyucchi, you are being noisy! You have to eat your food quietly! (Shuuhei) Well, you are being quite loud too Shuuhei (Wataru) Even if you spend the time being absent minded, as expected, you still get hungry. Once I finished eating lunch, my mind became calmer. I think the spring rolls came out quite well today. The wrapping is crispy, and they were delicious along with the fragrance of the sesame oil. The stickiness of the red bean paste came out as planned and the vegetables left a good after taste. One of the two was stolen by Shuuhei though By the way, if you tried to steal from Miyu since the contents of the bentos were the same, she would mercilessly beat you to a pulp so you have to be careful. Even though I say that, its not like its fine if he steals from me. I returned the chopsticks to the cafeteria and the time after we ate our bentos was reserved for idle talk. Whenever Miyu brings another girl, we tend to talk about topics related to the school. However, if its just us three, lately it would be all related to TB. Though its usually mainly Shuuhei bringing information. Right, they announced the contents of the next update. (Shuuhei) Update? Is it going to be some kind of event? (Miyu) Miyu replied as she was tilting her canned juice. Meanwhile I was sitting next to her and I poured some warm green tea from the thermos onto the cap. Yup. The next one will be a PvP tournament. They havent released the details yet though. (Shuuhei) I see. However, there are people that definitely wont do PvP right? There are people that like and hate that. (Hind) Leaving PK aside, I believe there are people that disabled the option to have duels requested from the beginning. Its part of the game, but I believe that in this kind of game, the number of people that are into PvP are a minority. For people like that, it seems like they are holding bets on wholl advance through the tournament. Obviously using in game currency, regarding the odds, the dividend will go up and down throughout the betting times. (Shuuhei) I see. So they are trying to get normal people to watch the tournament that way! (Miyu) However, since the betting odds fluctuate, there wont be any fixed-odds betting. If some random person wins, its going to get rough. (Wataru) Probably (Shuuhei) After searching about it on my smartphone, it seems like this way of betting is called Parimutuel betting. Thats a word youd bite your tongue trying to pronounce. The dividend will go down down if everyone bets on that person, so if you try to aim for a lucky break and winthat kind of dream is possible. Well, we can leave this for later. We still havent set up a base, so we are not at that point yet. What about the progress players have made in areas outside the Grado empire? (Wataru) Other than the desert it seems to be going well. They have reached around the 3rd town in each area and have reached the capital. They sure have made quite a lot of progress this weekend. And, they have also confirmed the names of the countries. (Shuuhei) According to Shuuhei, the names of the three countries are as follows. North area, mountain country, Beli confederation. East area, forest country, Rust kingdom. South area, sea and islands country, Mahl republic. The west area is still unknown and the Grado empire is at the center. Which means, we are part of the ones exploring that area first even at that speed. (Hind) Though thats only because there are few competitors! (Miyu) She sure says that happily. However, its true that theres fun in exploring the lands with your own feet. I wonder what it is like, beyond those wastelands Other than that, it seems like Wacchi was right, if players catch bandits, their numbers will gradually decrease. Seems like the fate of players that go outside the country early is to get surrounded by them (Shuuhei) So theres a need for players to maintain the public order. The fact that they made NPCs incompetent, maybe that was in order for players to have bigger influence? (Wataru) Or is this simply to show the difference in national power with the empire? However, there were also bandits within the empire. Or was that only a special case because of the quest? I dont get it. Since you can earn gold from it, is there any need to think that hard about it? Provided that you do it in moderation. (Wataru) You are right. There are too many of them so you wouldnt be able to catch them all, like yesterday (Shuuhei) The three of us remembered and made similar fed up faces. If that many came to us, being difficult to deal with aside, the reward wouldnt be worth it. We were forced to use a lot of the healing items we preparedwe need to buy some again. Even if we catch their leader like yesterday, another guy will probably take his place anyway. Unless the number of players in the west side increase, its a problem we cant really deal with. Theres one last thing. There was information about rides being sold in towns. Donkeys are cheap but horses are expensive, it wasnt a small amount of money. (Shuuhei) I see. However, I dont care if its a donkey, Id like to have something for the time beingit would definitely be faster than walking. (Wataru) If we are speaking of a desert, wouldnt it be a camel instead of a horse? (Miyu) Ah, there probably are camels. Shall we take a look once we log in tonight? (Shuuhei) Right. If we are able to get some, I believe we could make progress in the exploration. (Wataru) Alright, in that case, tonight we are looking for a ride! (Miyu) Right after Miyu made such a declaration, the bell rang. We started cleaning up and we headed to our classroom while chatting like the rest of the students. Chapter 47 - Camel market Round and cute eyes with long eyelashes were staring back at me. It was opening and closing its nose while chewing, so I took some distance while feeling excited. I wouldnt want to get its saliva on me. We are talking about this game here, they even reproduce that stinky smelloh, that merchant is pulling the camel. We were currently in Town in the wastelands, Baskas plaza. The market that sells camels was quite big, so it was relatively easy to find. Inside the market you could see a vendor accompanied by over ten of them, the vicinity was a mix of people and camels. Though they are treating them roughly by spanking them with a stickbut there are many of them so I guess it cant be helped. However, there are so many of them. Theres the possibility that we might be able to buy them for cheap. (Hind) Umumu. We might be in luck. (Tobi) As expected, do they use them mostly as food? (Riizu) Probably? I heard that 90% of the ones sold in Egypts camel market are used as food too (Hind) !! Hind, are you going to eat the camel!? (Yumir) It surprises Yumirbut well, since Japanese people are not familiar with it, its not that weird that she didnt know. Their milk is richer in calcium than cows and the meat of the young ones seems to be delicious. Its fine to ride them, its also fine to eat them, camels are economic animals for people in arid regions. Once I explained that to Yumir, she crossed her arms and began pondering. Hey, Hind-kun. Is Yumir-san thinking about wanting to try out camels meat? (Selene) Most likely. Shes probably looking at that camel over there and thinkingthat it looks tasty. Definitely. (Hind) How did you know!? (Yumir) Selene-san and me were talking while not looking at each others faces. If we did we would start blushing after all, so I believe it cant be helped for the time being. She told me she wanted to keep what happened that night a secret so, even then, I plan to act as natural as possible. Sometimes, I would get scared when Rizu would tilt her head as if she was wondering what was going on though. Hearing what Yumir had said, I checked the clock and looked at the markets signpost. Ah, this market is still not open. In that case, since theres still time until the auction, shall we look for a place to eat? (Hind) Once I looked at my status I saw that the hunger gauge was below 50%, so I guess we could replenish that now. The fight with the bandits and the big distance we travelled had influence on that. There might be a shop that offers camel cuisine after all. Umu, lets go! (Yumir) We searched for a place that wasnt too far from the market and found one that was managed alongside an inn. Once we asked if there was camel cuisine, they prepared us a menu that was recommended for travellers. Seems like they have abundant young camel meat in stock, so they are confident in the taste for the price they set. The head chief was a good looking man and he stopped his hands to take our order. I never imagined we would eat camel meat before monster meat (Tobi) I wonder what it tastes like. (Hind) We sat down on a table for four and food was brought to us. Even though it didnt take long for the food to arrive, it didnt look like he had cut any corners. Head chief, you have such skills! I was the only one that had to borrow a chair from another table, but since there werent any other customers I wasnt being a hindrance. The order we were seated was Selene-san next to Riizu and Yumir next to Tobi. However, its true that we havent seen any other players since we crossed the border Selene-san, do you have any preferences when it comes to food? (Hind) I asked her while distributing the spoons and forks. Im aware that its a bit rude to ask, but Selene-san gives the feeling that she has an unbalanced diet. Nope, I dont think I have anything that I especially hate. (Selene) I see. Secchan, you are unexpectedly quite a healthy person! (Yumir) S-Secchan? (Selene) Selene-san was bewildered because of Yumirs way of addressing her. I thought it was overly familiar, but unexpectedly Riizu- I see. In that case, Ill call you Secchan too. (Riizu) E-Eh? You too, Riizu-chan? (Selene) Declared that she would call her the same way Yumir did. Her aim for doing this Its important to have your presence enter the group first. If we use a nickname, it would feel as if we are much closer than if we spoke to you normally right? (Riizu) I-I see Thank you, Riizu-chan (Selene) Is what I heard when I heard them whispering to each other. Somehow, I get the feeling she cant just leave her aloneRiizu most likely has the same feelings I do. Anyway, Im relieved that these two are getting along. However, it seems like Yumir is quite perplexed seeing Riizu acting differently from usual. I get what she means, but dont go saying anything unnecessary, OK? Youll definitely end up in an argument. However, it seems like such a prayer wasnt conveyed to her T-Thats so not like youyou are giving me the chills, you know? Are you really Riizu? Were your insides switched with someone else? (Yumir) Be at ease. I will never change the way I refer to you in this lifetime. Ill always refer to you in a distant way using san. Ah, but Hind-san is a special case, you know? One day Ill change the way I refer- (Riizu) Hah! I see, I see, Im relieved. If theres ever a day you addressed me in a familiar manner, Id get goose bumps all over my body and theyd never stop! (Yumir) Tsk, you are such a! (Riizu) They both kicked their chairs and stood up. Even though Ive always been telling them that they should at least never fight while we are in the middle of a meal! I let my guard down because lately these two have been keeping their word. These girls! Eh, this, uuH-Hind-kun (Selene) A teary eyed Selene-san and a perplexed Tobi looked at me asking me to do something about the current situation. Yup, its not like this was Selene-sans faultwait just a sec. I cut up pieces of the camel steak while trembling in anger, and stabbed them with two forks, then I forcibly put them into their mouths while they were throwing insults at each other. Nuoh!? (Yumir) Aguh!? (Riizu) While both of them were chewing it with a surprised look, I put the chairs back where they were and poked them in the forehead to make them sit down. Cant you girls see it? The face of the head chief that made this food. That bearded face peeking from the kitchen in worry. What would you feel when instead of eating the food that you put all your soul into, the people started to fight without touching the food? (Hind) However, I didnt put those thoughts into words. I just glared at them strongly. When I did so, not just Yumir and Riizu, but even Selene-san and Tobi shoulders trembled in surprise. I-Im sorry for making such a ruckusIm reflecting on it (Yumir) I-I apologizefor not knowing my place (Riizu) Start eating before it goes cold. (Hind) Y-Yes! Since both of them already apologized, guess I can stop here. Meals are to be had while they are enjoyable. Stress has a bad effect on digestion. Even though this is a game, we shouldnt neglect that kind of thing. T-Tobi-kunHind-kun is quite the force to be reckoned with (Selene) Wacc-Hind-dono also cooks so hes really strict when it comes down to table manners. Its fine if it gets lively but if the mood turns sour like thishe becomes a Yaksha that no one can confront. (Tobi) How should I say this, hes like a mother (Selene) Who are you calling a mother? I can hear you. Come on, lets eat too. (Hind) !! Ah, yes! (Selene) Thanks for the food. (Hind) Once I saw both of them picking up their forks, I started eating my own camel steak. The red flesh tasted like something between beef and lamb, even though it was a bit chewy, it was soft as expected from meat from a young one. As with sheep, once years pass, the fluids contained within the meat decrease and the meat hardens. It seems like he only used salt for seasoning, I can see that he prepared it very carefully. This white mass thats used as a garnish is probably the hump Once I bit into it, along with the crunchiness the fat spread throughout my mouth. T-ThisI might take a liking to this It looks like it might taste better if you eat it with the red meat. It might taste a bit peculiar butyup! (Yumir) I dont really like this fatbut I dont think it tastes bad. (Riizu) I enjoy this chewy texture. This is meat! It gives that kind of feeling. (Tobi) I personally prefer stew to steakthe flavor of the meat is a bit too strong for me, but its tasty. (Selene) Does the camels milk taste a bit salty? Or is that just me? (Hind) After that, the mood turned better and we enjoyed tasting the camels meat. Just as the head chef said before, the bill turned out to be slightly expensivebut we told him that it was delicious when we left the shop and his face crumbled and turned into a grin. We entered this shop on a whim without even making an appointment, but Im glad that it was this store. Chapter 48 - Price negotiation and first ride Like I was saying, since we are going to buy three at the same time, gives us a discount! (Hind) Cant do! If I sell them for cheaper than this, Kami-san will yell at me! Basically, we were participating in the auction now. Regarding what happened, we went to the seller that was unable to find a buyer in order to strike a deal personally. Regarding the auction itself, it was quite the stimulating experience, seeing how the sellers shouted the price in a loud voice while hitting the camels with a stick to show the quality of their meat. As expected, while buying them for their meat was popular, buying them as a mount wasnt so much. After finishing the transactions, the buyers and sellers take their camels and go their own ways. Seems like the number of sellers is way higher than the number of buyers today, so the price is on the cheaper side. As a result, you could see people like us that were negotiating with the sellers even though the auction was over. I want to take this chance and get a camel as cheap as possible. Because even for a vendor, bringing the camels here is not free either. They have to feed them and I heard that some travel great distances to sell them too. That being the case, the travel expenses must have been pretty high. Furthermore, in the case that they want to appear in the auction tomorrow, they will have to pay a fee to show their goods again. As a seller, its better to sell as soon as possible. Our estimated budget is 200.000G. Todays average price for a camel thats been trained to be mounted is 70.000G, its usually a bit higher. If we bought five of them it would be 350.000G sowe dont have enough? Just for the record, Tobi investigated and the average price for a donkey is 50.000G and a horse was a whooping 1.000.000G. You could say they are on a league of their own. In that case Ill buy five! Ill buy all the ones you have right now, so please! Sell me those five for 180.000G! (Hind) Kuah! So you finally said all of themits true that if I dont head back soon my next job will be220.000G! Well, I was aiming for a vendor with five of them from the start! After sticking a price to 3 of them, I suggested buying all of them. Once I saw the man soften his expression, I believed the flow was in my favor. As Ive previously stated, for a seller, having to stay for longer periods of time raises the chances that itll turn unprofitable. Because of that, I made him think that he would be able to sell everything he had, increasing the chances that hell listen to my demands. Particularly someone like the man in front of me, I looked for someone like him in tribal clothes that looked like he had come from far away. 190.000G! (Hind) Its finally time for the finale. Most likely, hell settle for a price around 200.000G with this. The mans expression turned bitter and troubled. What will it be? Will he stop the negotiations, or? Suufuh. 200.000G is the final price! I cant go lower than this! That will be all! -Ill buy them! (Hind) Alright! I bought them! I mean, I won! The man started to scratch his head as if he was thinking Have I messed up?, but it was too late. You cant really say it doesnt count at this point, you know? I paid the man before he changed his mind and he handed over the reins for all of them. Hahyou are good for someone so young, kid. Since you were wearing lovely Shinto priest clothes, I thought you would be an easy target Haha, thanks. However, I think youve been doing a great job, uncle. These camels are really docile and obedient and react properly when you pull the reins, Im satisfied with this purchase. (Hind) Yes, I raised them to be docile. Take good care of them. Seems like camels get really violent when they are being trained and its very hard to discipline them. That being the case, it costs a lot more than using them as food, but that cant be helped. They also have saddles on them, so its a life-saver that we can ride them immediately. The negotiations took longer than I thought. There was no need for the five of us to be there in order to complete the transaction so I had the others go and replenish our items. Once I got to the meeting place, everyone was alreadywait, its this way! Turn this way! There there, even though he said that they were docile, it was still hard to pull all five of them. However, they sure look sleepyjust looking at them makes me feel as if Im losing strength. Looking at their faces remind me of Siesta-chan. I wonder if shes doing fine? Amazing! Wacchi, you really bought them for 200k!? Thats quite the discount! (Tobi) Wacchi? And Tobi-kun, your way of speaking (Selene) AhEhem! Good job, Hind-dono! Degozaru! (Tobi) Seeing me pulling the five dromedaries, Tobi shouted in joy. Selene-san learned of Tobis way of calling me, but lets leave that aside for now. Well then, theres one for each one of you so take turns in getting one. There, there and there. (Hind) Good work on the negotiations, Hind. Ooh, this camel is so big! (Yumir) You are right, they are big (Riizu) I handed everyone their respective reins. The girls were unexpectedly taken aback because of the size of the camels, but since they are calm theres no need to worry. The camels body is about 3 meters long and 2 meters in height, it was quite the impressive sight. When I gave Selene-san the reins at the end, she was looking at me with worry for some reason. Hind-kun, was it really fine? I still have more than enough money, if you asked (Selene) I already told you this a while ago, but that sort of thing is no good. We are trying to build a relationship of equals with Selene-san, so we have to take money matters seriously too. I did properly buy them within our budget so please dont worry about it anymore. (Hind) Since Selene-san earned a fortune via blacksmithing, shes the one with the most money among us. Regarding the matter of buying camels, she offered to have her part be bigger than the rest of us, but I refused that proposal. I did have confidence in my negotiation skills after all, in times like this, you have to share the burden equally. Most of the money we spent this time was from the reward from capturing that bandit boss. Its something we earned as a group, so there are no issues. Hind-kun, you sure are mature. At times, it makes me think that you are older than me. (Selene) I-If you compliment me directly like that, its quite embarrassing (Hind) This girlis for better or for worse, a naive person. She doesnt really mean anything by it, but it troubles me when she frankly expresses her feelings. I mean, if it was the usual three, we would talk about stupid stuff after all. As I got embarrassed, the three idiots made an evil smile at the same time. I got a bad feeling about this. Instead of someone older, a classmate of mine asked me if he wasnt actually an old man, you know? (Yumir) When we were kids, some of my friends mistakenly called Hind-san dad. Ah, others called him mom. (Riizu) For some reason, the girls in our class always ask Hind-dono about matters regarding love. (Tobi) You guys! The happiness from being complimented by Selene-san is all gone! How are you going to repay me for this!? (Hind) Ah, ahaha (Selene) That being said, Yumirs statement was the most shocking. An old man she saysIm still in my teens Anyway, lets get back on track. We advanced to the exit of the town that had a bridge, from here itll finally be time to ride the camels. We pulled the camels a bit past the exit and started to mount them at a spot not too close to the valley. Once we mounted the camels while they were sitting down with their legs folded, they started to stand up with their front legs first making their bodies bend backwards. Ahahaha! Scary, so scary!! Hahahaha! (Yumir) While listening to Yumir, who became all weird, I braced myself in order to not fall down. This time it raised its back legs and finally stood in an even manner. Ooh, they are so strongand this view This is so high! (Tobi) Oooh, this is quite (Hind) It really feels as if you had grown taller. It feels good. (Riizu) Its more comfortable than I thought. The humps are soft. (Selene) Like that, we practiced how to mount them for a while. Without crashing into each other, we started walking around the place. Its a game after all, its probably simplified so that its easy enough to ride them but I-Its shakingits shaking a lot (Selene) Camels have a unique way of walking, so it does shake in all directions. Its fine if you get used to itbut theres the chance that youll get sick, have to be careful about that. When I checked if everyone was fine, I saw Yumir getting off the camel with a pale face. I got off the camel after approaching her and placed my hand on her back. A-Are you all right? (Hind) UghI-Im finehah, hah. (Yumir) Even though she was the most energetic one of us until just a moment ago, what a sad state. However, this is worrying Yumir, think youll be able to cross the bridge? (Hind) Eh? (Yumir) I mean the bridge. You can see it from here right? The bridge hanging in the valley, its a suspension bridge (Hind) Eh? (Yumir) So she didnt notice Because of my words, Yumir looked at the bridge hanging in the valley and her face turned gradually paler. Chapter 49 - Yabilga desert If I remember correctly, there was an acupuncture point that was effective for motion sickness I crouched and took Yumirs hand. She jumped a bit in surprise, but I didnt mind that and made her sit down in that spot. W-Whats with you suddenly (Yumir) Itll be fine, stay still. (Hind) I took off her arms defensive gear and turned her arm over, then searched for the spot with my fingers. The spot was about 3 fingers placed across on your wrist towards the direction of your elbow. Then I pressed the middle of that location. I believe this should be the spot that helps with autonomic nerves. Take a deep breath. (Hind) Muh? Suh, hah (Yumir) Keep breathing like that. (Hind) Would this have any effect inside VR? I was having that kind of doubt. I pressed firmly on the spot while matching the timing of Yumirs breaths. After a while, Yumirs shallow breathing start to gradually turn normal. How is it? (Hind) Ooh, I thinkI feel better. (Yumir) In that case, lets continue. Ill press another spot. After that, lets seeI heard that looking at the scenery in the distance is good. (Hind) If I looked at the suspension bridge now, I feel that Id get depressed though. I might vomit, you know? (Yumir) In that case, look over there. Towards the town. (Hind) Muh (Yumir) While holding her arm, we turned around. This time I pressed in the middle of her palm and traced circles slowly. Well, it might only give her temporary peace of mind, but its better than nothing. When I was doing that, the two camels we got off of, turned their heads around towards us. Could it be that they are worried? No no, no way, right? We just bought them, theres no way that they would have warmed up to us to that point. They are probably curious about whats going on. Hind, is this a pressure point? Even the cures you know, are like the knowledge of a grandma. (Yumir) You were saying I was like a dad or a mom a while ago and in the end Im a grandma now? Jeez, what kind of person am I even? (Hind) How about, everyones caretaker? (Yumir) Even if you ask me that (Hind) Its not like Im unhappy about them relying on me, but I wish they wouldnt give me weird nicknames. While we were having that kind of conversation, Yumirs complexion kept getting better. Even her lifeless voice was turning back to normal. Alright, guess this should be about it? (Hind) -Thank you. However, could I ask you to keep pressing it? I still feel a bit sick. (Yumir) Is that so? In that case (Hind) I kept pressing the spot with my hand. She did look like she was fine already, but if the person herself says so. Though, I get the feeling that the hand Im holding is getting warmer? I think her face is also redder than usual. Fufu, fufufufu (Yumir) Why are you grinning? (Hind) -Right? Its unforgivable, right? Acting like shes weak to get your attention. (Riizu) Bloodlust! (Yumir) !? (Hind) Suddenly, Riizus chopno, spearhand thrust aimed at Yumirs hand. Yumir, who had jumped out of the way to avoid it, glared at Riizu. I was completely left out of the sudden situation. I wasnt pretending, I was really feeling sick! I was just making use of the situation! (Yumir) Dont get all defiant on me now! Was it delightful to hold hands? Im so envious that Id wish that I was in your place! (Riizu) You finally let out your true thoughts! Do you have any right to tell people what to do!? (Yumir) I dont really care, but I guess Yumir is fine already? Yup, shes engaging in a lively quarrel. Thats already something akin to playing with each other, lets leave them alone. I left them there and went to search for Tobi and Selene-san. They are probably used to the camels by now, its about time we gathered and departed. The width of the suspension bridge was barely enough for a single camel to go through. We made a row and pulled the camels across the bridge. To not let the camels legs get stuck in the floorboard, we were careful to go through the boards that didnt have any crevices. Though, I think this would be a no go if someone was coming from the other sidewhat should we do if that happened? Unexpectedly, the camels didnt have a fear of heights and calmly followed us. Was this also because of how well trained they were? While having those kind of nonsensical thoughts, we kept crossing the suspension bridge. However, I wonder how they managed to make this bridge? (Tobi) Tobi, who was right behind me, raised his voice. I replied to him while looking at the pillars erected on both sides of the bridge. Well, as you can see, they are made by building a tower on each side and passing a rope from one side to the other. However, what you want to know is how they got the rope across, right? (Hind) Thats right. The width of this canyon is about 100 meters? Its quite deep too, so bringing the rope down and climbing with it on the other side would be quite tiring in my opinion. (Tobi) This is a world with magic after all. Theres the chance that they could make the rope float and make it fly to the other side? (Hind) Though, if we assumed they made it with magic, they could also make one made of stone. Im not sure about the limits of magic in this world, so I cant be certain about it. Since I knew about an influential archer, I looked past Tobi and directed my gaze at Selene-san. Right. In the case that its not done by magic, I wouldnt be able to reach it with my crossbowmaybe they send the rope flying with something like a big ballista? It seems like a ballista can reach a distance of about 400 meters after all. (Selene) In real life, when it comes to long distance bridges like the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, the first cable is carried by a helicopter. Depending on the situation, theres been cases that its been done with a small scale rocket too. (Riizu) Furthermore, Riizu chipped in. Be it today or in the old days, the need to find a way to get something like a rope or cable to other shore is the same, so they would have to search for a suitable method in this era. Since we dont know about the details of this particular bridge, it would be nice to go back to the town and ask the NPCs for details. Y-Yumir-dono! The difference of knowledge between me and those three is like heaven and earth! (Tobi) D-Dont drag me in with you! I do have some knowledge about it! (Yumir) In that case, go ahead and say something about suspension bridges! Go ahead! (Tobi) Eh? Ehm, huhs-suspension bridges, shake! (Yumir) In the end, arent you an idiot too!? (Tobi) Ugogogo! (Yumir) We would know that they shake even if you didnt point it out. Luckily for us, there wasnt anyone among us with a fear of heights, it would be hell for someone like that. Im getting scared, so we should cross this bridge before we get into any trouble. That being said, this Baskas great bridge is like a lifeline for towns that exist in the desert. There are no monsters in the vicinity and they take great care of maintaining the bridge so we were able to cross without any issues. Once we crossed the bridge, we rode the camels and headed west of the wastelands. Yumir, are you not feeling sick? (Hind) Umu, Im getting the hang of it. As long as I dont look down and direct my gaze a bit in front of me, I dont feel that sick. (Yumir) Glad to hear that. (Hind) She can predict when its going to shake by looking at the inclination so I guess its reasonable. Though Im not sure if Yumir has thought that out. We proceeded like that for ten minutes. As we went westwards, the temperature rapidly increased. Then, the surrounding wastelands earth lost all its moisture and turned into delicate sand. Until it turned into a scenery that was sand no matter which direction you looked at, it didnt take long to become like that. The displayed field name was Yabilga desert. Uheh, its so hot (Hind) Now its turning more into a desert! Im getting fired up! (Yumir) Kuh! This feeling of going through the desert on a camel! Its a romantic scenery that reminds you of a trip or an adventure! (Tobi) Its so hot. Even though it was hot alreadyhah. (Riizu) Even then Riizu-chan, you are staying cool (Selene) This is just from feeling, but I believe this is over 40C. Regarding where we were heading, we were heading towards the town in the desert we heard from in Town in the wastelands, Baska that I had marked on the map. To not have to worry about getting lost in such a desert with no landmarks helps a lot. Once you turn on the navigation, an arrow will display in your field of view, its fine as long as you follow that. Well, I dont know if youll want to. Once dusk comes inside the game, lets take a screenshot. With the camels included. (Hind) Oh, that would be nice! Good idea, Hind! (Yumir) Do you mind if I upload it to the BBS? To show them the good parts of the desert. (Tobi) When Tobi said that, I looked at Selene-san and she started shaking her head. Well, I thought so. Personally, its not like I want to stand out in the BBS. If you are fine with a screenshot that doesnt show us, do whatever you want. Its no good if we show in it. (Hind) Umu, understood. (Tobi) Wait guys, we got to change clothes soon. You are getting a status ailment. (Hind) Oh, you are right! We are getting burnt. (Yumir) Now that you mention it, I was thinking that I was feeling some kind of stinging! (Tobi) For both of their sakes we decided to take a break and let the camels rest, changing their clothes in the process. Yumir rolled a big head scarf on her head hiding her head and the nape of her neck. Since Tobi didnt show his skin to begin he should be fineguess I cant say that. He was wearing all black, so he switched to the whitish clothes he had previously bought. We somehow decided to make preparations as if this was real life and it turned out to be a good choice. Since the rest of us felt hot and decided to change clothes beforehand, there were no issues with us. Our initial clothes were already good to cover us from sunlight, but these ones did soften the sunlight even more. I used Recover on both of them to heal them from burn and healed their HP with Healing. Alright, lets depart aga- (Hind) Hind-kun! I can see unnatural movements in the sand! (Selene) !! (Hind) Due to Selene-sans warning, we all put ourselves on guard. When we did, the surrounding sand exploded upwards and a large number of desert colored scorpions appeared. We are surrounded!? Chapter 50 - Unexpected reunion The monsters name was Desert scorpion and they were around level 35. Their overall length was about one meter and as you would expect, they were much bigger than their real life counterparts and gross. Since a large quantity of them appeared and were squirming around, it couldnt be helped that I started feeling goosebumps in my skin. Luckily, it seems like the camels couldnt be the target of monsters attacks. Like that, we entered battle with the swarm of scorpions. Now that I think about it, I believe this heat is taking a toll on our minds. Our current objective was to travel and explore, not to fight with monsters. I thought we already knew that However, for some reason we continued to fight with the infinite amount of scorpions swarming at us. Tobi was moving around while attracting the attention of a large number of them. Yumir aimed for the monsters that were heading for the rear guards while making her aura give off sparks. I used Quick on Riizu and Attack up on Selene-san. Riizus offensive magic Darkness ball moved towards the spot Tobi just passed by. Selene-san blasted the gathered foes away with Blast arrow. Around ten of them were blown into pieces by a single attack. That did feel good. Our partys coordination has improved quite a bit during this fightwhile I was carefreely having those thoughts, it suddenly came to me. Wait, whats with this pointless war of attrition!? We have already defeated a hundred of maybe two hundred scorpions, you know!? S-Stop! Switch over and focus on defense! Lets gather! (Hind) Nuoh!? Whats with you suddenly, Hind? (Yumir) We are already level 35 you know!? Only Selene-san is at level 32! Someone should have thought that something was wrong! (Hind) If you say that Ill be troubled. You werent doing this on purpose? (Tobi) Eh? I was staying quiet since you looked like you were having fun (Riizu) I thought that was your intentionwe are talking about Hind-kun here. (Selene) Why? How did it end up like this? Now that I think about it, at the start everyones position was all over the place, so I shouted instructions over and over. However, as the battle went on, each member started to grasp what their role was. In the end, there was no need for me to say anything anymore. Fighting with such a functional party, I remember feeling better and better- Isnt everything my fault? No choice, Tobi. Use that! (Hind) Eh, is it OK if I do!? If we thought about the cost of the materials, Id say its something really valuable! (Tobi) Its time to use it, do it! It could act as an experiment, dont worry about the cost! (Hind) Dont mind if I do then. Nin! (Tobi) Tobi lit that and immediately threw it. With a muffled explosion, sand and the remains of the scorpions were scattered around us. And Waves of sand and wind pressure rushed towards us. Thats some nice power. Even though its only inside the game, isnt this flashier than a real life Bo-hiya? Though the displayed damage wasnt as high as it looked. Ooooh!! Whats that, whats that!? I want to use it too! (Yumir) This is not the time to be saying that! Retreat! (Hind) Come on, lets go Yumir-san. (Riizu) Gueh! Dont pull me, Ill walk on my own! Im telling you Ill walk by myself! (Yumir) The enemies far from the center of the explosion were mostly all alive, but the damage had knocked them back so we were able to take some distance. Taking that chance, we got on the camels and were able to break free from the swarm of scorpions. When we were unable to see any enemies, we were finally able to take a breather. Though, this time we talked while riding the camels. Since they are lurking within the sand, theres no way for us to know where the safe areas are. The topic of our conversation was the origin of the strange number of Desert scorpions. Seems like Selene-san noticed something that bothered her while we were running away. The truth is, I saw three strange holes. Since they were in the dunes far away, we were unable to notice them mid-fight. They were swarming from inside, so I believe theres no doubt that it was their nest. (Selene) Ah, thats why they respawned so fast. If we didnt retreat, we would have kept fighting there forever (Hind) If we want to exterminate these scorpions, we have to destroy their nests first. These types of monsters were standard in older action RPGs. It was common to see a set of bees and their beehives. The only saving grace was that the experience granted by those scorpions was extremely normal. There are lots of cases where that type of monsters that spawn infinitely are set to give really low amounts of experience points. However, even though they are convenient to level up, once they catch you they will encircle you making it hard to escape. (Tobi) Its hard to run in the desert after allthey would just catch up to you. (Hind) Fumu. However, since they are that troublesome, theres probably some rare drops in those nest! (Yumir) Speaking of drop items, we have a lot of scorpion materials in our inventories. I wonder if we could use them for something. Oh, right. Before thinking about such things, I should apologize for the blunder in the last fight Ah, you see, Im sorry everyone. Since our coordination got better during the fight, I kinda got too into it. I made a mistake concerning when we should have quit. (Hind) Oh, so you meant that. I was just thinking that it was quite the drawn out and unproductive way to fight for someone like you. (Yumir) Unproductive you sayyou sure are quite harsh. But well, I cant say anything to deny it. Im ashamed. (Hind) For some reason, the role of leading the party has fallen onto me. Thats why the partys failures are fundamentally part of my responsibility. Once I lowered my head, Selene-san was the first one to back me up. Shes so kind. However, I kind of understand Hind-kun. When Im in great form while Im doing blacksmithing, I tend to craft way more than what I had initially planned. (Selene) Ah, I experience that kind of thing too. Once you are in good form, you can craft high quality goods consecutively after all. You cant stop your hands in those kinds of situations. When I get into it, I somehow end up dying before I notice. (Yumir) When I get into it, I end up staying online all night. (Tobi) That sort of thing doesnt happen to me, but as a punishment, can I demand to sleep together? (Riizu) (Hind) As if to express my own feelings, Selene-san started to laugh with a trouble look. Well then, theres just a bit more until our destination. Its nearly evening inside the game, the ocean of sand is starting to get dyed in red. Sunset in the desert is breathtakingly beautiful, it doesnt feel like its a game at all. Unexpectedly, Selene-san was the most moved by the scenery and her eyes were glittering the most when watching the sunset happily. Im glad that I came here, at such a statement, I was unable to contain a smile. Im happy that shes being honest. As we had previously discussed, we took various screenshots and resumed walking after telling each other that wed send the data to the others. Luckily, there were no encounters with any monsters during that time. By the way, does this Yabilga desert not have an area boss? Isnt it worrisome to just go like this? (Yumir) That was a question asked by Yumir. Theres a reason why no one else had asked this question. The tutorial explained this, right? In fields that take a long time to travel, they have set up dungeons so there wont be a field boss. (Hind) This was only because Yumir had skipped the tutorial. The border color of the field name displayed when we entered the area was different so it was possible to differentiate them, since we have confirmed that this Yabilga desert is a large scale area, theres no need to worry about a boss. Strictly speaking, theres a boss in the dungeon placed in the field, but theres no need to worry about that if you are just travelling from town to town. Its something like that, we can just focus on travelling today. You got it? (Hind) I see, understood. (Yumir) Regarding the dungeon, well just do it little by little- (Tobi) That will probably be left for when we explore the place and set up the home. In order to do that, well devote ourselves to just progressing now. For the time being, I want to imitate what everyone else is doing and reach this regions capital. Eh? Hind-kun, cant you see something over there? (Selene) Eh? (Hind) Just when I absorbed in how wed proceed, Selene-san found something. I cant see anything thoughwe all advanced to the place she was pointing at, its true that Im beginning to see something that has a different color from the sand. Its not a plant or a boulder. Once I concentrated, I could see something that looked like a collapsed person carrying abackpack!? I-Its a person! Hind-dono! (Tobi) It collapsed!? (Hind) We travelled towards said person in a panic with our camels. We descended from our camels after they sat down and checked if that person had any pulse in a hurry. Something must have happened, the luggage was scattered all around the place. Hey, hang in there! Wait, this person is (Hind) S-She isclaclaClatos! (Yumir) You are wrong. Shes Claris-san, Yumir-san. You sure have bad memory. (Riizu) Ah, shes the clerk from the item shop in Altrowa village! (Tobi) However, why is Claris-san in this place? (Selene) The unconscious woman with her eyes closed was without any doubt the NPC Claris-san. Immediately after checking that she was breathing, her eyelids slowly started to open Chapter 51 - Oasis town, Maija Shortly after, Claris-san completely regained consciousness. She was able to get her breathing in order and there were no issues with her memories when we talked to her. Seems like not much time has passed since she lost consciousness. As expected, isnt this too convenient? This timing (Tobi) Dont say it. Its probably set by the game (Hind) While Tobi and I were whispering between each other, she was currently gulping down the water we had given her. I heard that its dangerous to drink water really fast while you are dehydrated thoughbut since she hasnt lost consciousness for long, its probably fine. Just in case, I had put some salt into it. Puhah, thank you very muchHind-sama. (Claris) So, what happened? Why were you alone here? (Hind) Thats (Claris) From what Claris-san told us, it seems like she was heading towards a town in the desert with a certain caravan. However, they were attacked by a large number of monsters in the middle of their journey and the caravan dispersed. Since Claris-san wasnt used to riding on top of a camel, she fell off her camel while trying to run away and lost consciousness. Given that we cant see her camel anywhere, it probably ran away. That is unfortunate. (Hind) Im glad that I wasnt attacked by monsters while I had lost consciousness. Im really grateful, everyone. (Claris) Dont worry about it! Right, Hind!? (Yumir) Ah, yup. Claris-san definitely has good luck. (Hind) The monsters that attacked the caravan were snakes that had a deadly poison called Horn viper. Though according to Claris-san, they are monsters that you dont normally see around this area I heard that they failed to kill their leader this year, but to think that they would appear as a group in the Yabilga desert. At this rate, it will be difficult to get to the royal capital Waaha (Claris) O-Oh!? Seems like important information is coming out from Claris-sans mouth. This is weird. Even though there were rumours that NPCs had restrictions on the information they gave. I thought that they would basically not tell the names of towns you havent reached yetbut she said royal capital Waaha? By the way Claris-san, whats the name of the town closest to here? (Hind) Yes? Its Maija, theres an oasis there. Arent you all heading there now? (Claris) O-OhClaris-san, excuse us for a moment. We have something to discuss so take a moment to relax over there. (Hind) Eh? I-I understand (Claris) We gathered while facing away from Claris-san. Given the conversation just now, everyone had already noticed how peculiar she was. First off, Riizu opened her menu and checked the map. Right after she mentioned the name, the name is being displayed on the map now. Seems like the system takes proper action when we obtain information from her. (Riizu) What I can think of is that one of the reasons is because shes an NPC that travels long distances. Other than that, theres the possibility of it being because her job is peddler. (Hind) Theres one more! She has affection for Hind In other words, Hinds likability with her is higher than with other NPCs! (Yumir) Yumir-dono is giving a decent opinion!? (Tobi) Its true that Claris-san only calls Hind-kun by his name. (Selene) Because Tobi had said something unnecessary, Yumir drew her sword and was currently chasing him, but lets leave that aside for now. We are still not sure if we are right, but since we are already at this point, we thought that it would be better to hear more. Sorry to keep you waiting, Claris-san. Well accompany you to Maija. (Hind) Really!? Please do so. Even though its a short distance from here, Im really bad at fighting. (Claris) In that case, please use my camel. Ill take care of the reins so its fine if you just get on it. (Hind) Eh? But in that case Hind-sama will have to walk (Claris) Its fine. Its not that far from here after all. (Hind) Yes (Claris) The rest of the party were already riding theirs. There wasnt enough space in the camel so I carried her big backpack myself. I pushed Claris-sans back and helped her get on the camel- In that case, lets ride it together! That will be fine! (Claris) Huh? (Hind) Having decided that, she was being quite pushy about it yet her manner of speaking was cunning. She didnt let me argue against her and before I noticed, I was riding the camel with Claris-san. This is so weirdoddly enough, I dont think I can win against her words. Its even at the point where I cant say anything back. I wonder why its like that? Claris-san, who was sitting in front of me, leaned her weight on me as if she was relieved. The camel continued walking as if there was no difference in the weight it was carrying on its back. You, you are quite strong Like this, we wont fall behind the others in speed, right!? (Claris) Y-You are righthaha (Hind) Im so scared that Im unable to turn around. I can still feel their presence behind me, but no one has uttered a word for some time now. They were all silent and the air around us turned heavy. Now that I think about it, this game doesnt have a chat log. Theres no party chat, guild chat and even personal chat doesnt exist. Since this is a VR game, the intention was to make use of this chance to have people speak directly with each other. That is why for long distance communication or when you dont want others to hear what you are talking about, these are done through mails. Basically, what I want to say is thatshortly after I got on top of the camel with Claris-san, Ive been hearing the ringtone of mails. I might get a headache from this *piropiropiro* sound. The culprits are probably Yumir and Riizu. I get the feeling they are being at least considerate enough to not hurt the likability I have with Claris-san, but I might lose it before that happens. Even though this should be a happy situation where Im riding the camel with a beautiful woman, but somehow the journey was far more painful. Oasis town, Maija seems to be the name of this town. Like the name indicates, it was a town that spread out with a rich oasis at its center. It seems like it was developed as a stopping point for travellers to stay in while they transported their merchandisethat was what Claris-san explained. The houses were made of earth and bricks and the flames illuminating the place gave it a calm atmosphere. By the time we reached the town it had turned completely dark. Ah!? Hey, lady from the empire! Over here! Im glad that you are safe! Ah, Amin-san! Hind-sama, that person is the leader of the caravan I was travelling with. (Claris) Soon after we got off our camels in the entrance, someone talked to Claris-san. The owner of the voice was a man with a good physique and he came closer to us while having armed women and men guarding him. From his looks, I guess hes a merchanta wealthy one at that. I wanted to go and let the camels drink some water so I told Claris-san that we would split here. If we are lucky, well probably see her again. I gave her luggage back and grasped the reins to make the camel head towards the oasis. Please wait, Hind-sama! Everyone too! I want to thank you all for saving me, so can you all come to the inn called Deserts Owl Pavilion later? (Claris) Ah, eh (Hind) Hind-kun. (Selene) Yes. Well visit the place later. (Hind) Really!? In that case, Ill wait for you in the inn! (Claris) Because of my reply, Claris-san sends us off with a delighted face. The way Selene-san talked to me implied she was trying to say that Its better if you take her up on her offer. Its true that I was unable to get much information because I was being bombarded by mail and the chances of a quest happening if we keep in touch is higher. Though I think it would be a bit shameless since we only picked her up and no monsters appeared in the middle of our journey. Leaving that aside, the biggest problem I have right now is- (Riizu and Yumir) So scaryah, I didnt say anything! Im begging you, please dont look at me like that! (Tobi) Dealing with Riizu and Yumir who were currently glaring at me. Chapter 52 - Stroll at night in the deserts town H-Hey, are we still doing this? (Hind) Of course we are! We said we would switch after doing one lap, right!? Since it has turned out like this, I should thank Claris for giving us this excuse. (Yumir) I mean, if it was just riding it together, if you told me, I wouldnt have minded if (Hind) Dont lie! You would have postponed it indefinitely! Like a father that fails to set a date when he tells you that hell take you to the amusement park! (Yumir) Dont struggle! Like I would do something like that. What are you, a kid!? (Hind) If I had to say what Im doing right now, Im currently taking a stroll while Yumir is riding the camel in front of me. What they demanded from me while being very angry was to Do the same thing I did with Claris-san. Yumir went first since she won in rock-paper-scissors and we gave a lap around the town while she was being noisy. After that, I took a lap around town with Riizu. From beginning to end, Riizu didnt say a word and just absentmindedly looked at the beautiful moon in the desert. Compared to the tempestuous Yumir, it was a quiet and calm stroll. After that ended, I let Riizu off the camel and we meet with Selene-san in the towns entrance. Since we had some free time, I might explore the town. Even Riizu who just got off the camel, went into town after leaving some words behind and opening her map. Good work out there, Hind-kun. (Selene) Ah, yes. The desert at night has its charm so I didnt mind the stroll itself. Selene-san, you are not planning on going into town? You dont have any particular issues with talking to clerks in shops, right? (Hind) Thats the case butthe truth is (Selene) Selene-san was squirming while hesitating to say something. Before long, as if to ascertain her thoughts, she said this while doing some strange movements. H-Here! (Selene) While I was still riding on top of the camel, Selene-san closed her eyes and extended her arms towards me. Would it be easier to understand if I said it was the Carry me! pose a small child would make? If I had to guessits probably her saying I want to get a ride too!. However, receiving such a surprise attack made me freeze for a while. Because of the cuteness created by having an older girl do something like that. On second thought, forget it (Selene) Ah, wait a moment! Ehw-want to get on? (Hind) Taking my silence as a refusal, she lowered her arms while being disheartened. In return, I held my hand out to her in a panic and Selene-san timidly grasped my hand. Selene-san who was riding in front of me was red up to her ears and didnt utter a single word. Unlike the previous times with Yumir and Riizu, I was actually feeling nervousbut I was pretty calm now that I have seen her being far more nervous than me. I would have never thought that Selene-san wanted to do the same thing as those two. (Hind) I might have admired things like riding together with someone? (Selene) That might have been the case, but if we are talking about this sort of thing, its usually done by riding on a horse with a prince. Leaving aside the fact that we are riding a camel, isnt it somewhat lacking when Im the one riding behind? (Hind) This might be weird coming from someone with a lack of confidence like me, but isnt Hind-kuns self-esteem really low? (Selene) No. The people that say they are cool when they are with those three, would only be narcissists. (Hind) After Selene-san mutteredthats true, she took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders. Having the time to look around the surroundings, she let out a the desert is lovely at night. However, even if a prince riding a horse appeared next to us, I believe I wouldnt hesitate to choose to ride on the camel with Hind-kun. (Selene) Eh? (Hind) -Y-Yumir-chan and Riizu-chan would most likely say the same thing!? It wouldnt be just me! (Selene) Receiving such a bold confession, my heart started to race. Im glad that she cant see my face right now Hearing Selene-san trying to hide her bashfulness, I was glad that I had her ride the camel with me. Though those two have always been like that. (Hind) They like you, right? I heard that you are not related by blood to Riizu-chandont you have any intention to respond to her feelings? (Selene) Even if she liked me, its a bit complicated because weve been together for so long. Even if I took into account the part of me that likes her as someone of the opposite sex, I cant properly judge it because Im too close to her. (Hind) I have realized that they like me. However, Yumir is a friend and I get the feeling the part of me loving Riizu as a family member is bigger. Most likely, the three of us share this feeling. There might be a day when our relationship changes, but I believe no one wishes for that right now. Unless Im mistaken, I believe thats whats happening. That why, Im thinking that theres no need for me to do anything in a hurry right now. (Hind) Now that you mention it, even though their approach is intense, they are not requesting an answerI see, it was like that. Thats so nice (Selene) Is that so? To the general public, I believe they would say that its a distorted relationship though- (Hind) I didnt mean that. I think its something like telepathy? I believe its as Hind-kun says. Since you trust each other so much, you can take your time moving forwardfrom the point of view of a timid person like me, its quite the enviable relationship. Yup, Im jealous (Selene) (Hind) After those last words, Selene-san shut her mouth. From her helpless shaking back, I could feel fatigue and loneliness. In order to make it easier for her to lean on me, I straightened my back and took the reins as if I was lightly embracing her. Selene-san was a bit surprised at the start, but she eventually relaxed her body For a while, she slept like an infant without any ill will. Until she woke up, I slowly took a second lap around town. Oh, they sure are drinking the water vigorously. As expected of camels. (Hind) Was it80 litres each time? (Riizu) That seems to be the case. If it was a person, they would die. (Hind) Yumir-san, are you going to drink too? 80 litres. (Riizu) Hey, dont joke around! (Yumir) Its just a joke. Its just that, this water is really tasty even for us humans. (Riizu) Ah, its true. Theres few impurities. I had this image of the water here being a bit more muddy though, is it because its a game? The water from the oasis wasnt free, but a litre was worth 5G so it wasnt that expensive. That was because of the abundant water in this oasis, if it was somewhere else within the desert it would probably be way more expensive. Water is valuable in the desert. It might be because my camel had worked the hardest, it was the one drinking the most water. It sure worked hard today. I want it to drink plenty of water and rest well. Right right, Hind-dono. I found the Deserts Owl Pavillion. (Tobi) Thanks. That helps a lot. (Hind) Once I took a look around, there were many tents used as a residence. Isnt that dangerous? (Tobi) With the remaining time, Tobi had mapped the town. Just by going to a place or entering a store one time will register itself on the map, if you are in a party, even if only one member goes to those places the rest of the party benefits from it the same. If I opened the map, I should be able to get a window with a panoramic view of the town. Selene-san answered Tobis question while drawing some water with a bucket. Tobi-kun. Werent the tents placed in the sandy parts far from the oasis? (Selene) Its as you say, they encircle the town from the exterior. (Tobi) In those places, its more efficient to set tents. When the ground is deep, you have no choice but to dig quite deep and put in a bearing pile which is quite a lot of work. From the looks of it, there are also quite a few houses built- (Selene) So from a technological point, the construction of the houses cant keep up with the development of the town? I see (Tobi) After taking a short nap on top of the camel, Selene-san thanked me as she got down with a refreshed expression. There seems to be a lot going on, but I only want for us to be able to enjoy playing together. And I believe thats the right thing. After the camels were done drinking water, we moved towards the inn where Claris-san was waiting for us. Chapter 53 - Deserts Owl Pavillion The inn called Deserts Owl Pavillion was a fairly big one even among the ones within town. Since shes staying in this inn, has Claris-san earned quite the profit? Buildings that were made by hardening sand and earth were the standard in the desert, while being solidly built, their color was also soft. A bright light was leaked from within the entrance and the good fragrance of food stimulated our noses. Gulp. (Yumir) Yumir, you are drooling. (Hind) Whoops. (Yumir) Im begging you, please, be well behaved in front of other people. (Hind) I-I know! (Yumir) Once I checked our hunger gauges, they were already past the 20% mark. That being the case, it might be good if we talked while having a meal. We informed them of our names at the reception and before long, Claris-san appeared. Seems like she even went as far as picking our rooms so it appears like well be staying here tonight. Theres not much need for lying down inside the game, but shall we take her up on her offer and log out here tonight? I have also made arrangements for dinner, so lets talk in the dining hall. Im very interested in why Hind-sama and the rest have come to the desert. (Claris) Id also like to know whats the purpose of Claris-san being here. Its probably related to business thoughwhy did you choose the extremely harsh desert? (Hind) We both smiled at each other and I could feel something stabbing at my back. They are telling me to hurry upthough, I get the feeling that it wasnt just one or two people stabbing mewho was it, the one that snuck a kick in there! After seeing that, Claris-san said The dining hall is over here with a smile while starting to walk. In succession, the five of us followed her. We all sat down around a circular table inside a spacious private room. I wonder if this room is used for VIPsthe treatment is so good that it makes me a bit uneasy. However, Claris-san smiled the whole time while telling us that we didnt need to worry since she knew the owner of the inn. Since the people of the desert are honest, go there and learn the basics of peddlingthats what grandma told me to do. She also said that if I managed to endure the harsh environment of the desert, Id be able to build up stamina. If we added this to what I previously told you, I believe you can get an idea about what kind of people they are. (Claris) She left some of the goods she had brought with the caravan, but those were lost when the monsters attacked. However, it seems she received some compensation from the mercenaries that acted as guards. It would be one thing if it was something like our recent social systems, but it was something that didnt really suit this middle ages setting. Sincere you say Its true that receiving compensation for losing the goods you left in their care is not something you would hear. (Hind) This might be a bad way to say it butprotecting them with your own life is your responsibility! You lost your luggage? I dont care! Is what Id imagine a guard saying usually (Tobi) I dont know about other countries, if they did something like that here they would lose trust and be unable to continue business. Its hard enough living in these lands, thats why they are very honest when it comes down to business. On the other hand, they are very strict when it comes to treachery and fraud. That what this country of the desert, Sala is like. (Claris) According to Claris-san, this is what the people of the desert are like. In the process, she didnt hesitate to state the name of the country in the conversation. Seems like the name of this country is Sala. On the other hand, she said to leave the Beli confederation for last. They are very greedy for profit and the people over there are very shrewd. (Claris) So, next time youll head south? (Hind) I still dont know. Though, I plan to stay here doing business for the time beingbut they have blocked the road towards the royal capital. Ah, everyone, we can continue while we eat. Lets do it before it gets cold. (Claris) She said that while looking at the steaming food. Overall, it seems like they use tomatoes and broad beans on a lot of their cuisine. While their ingredients are limited, they concentrate on making plenty of variations, I cant decide which one to try first Nu, this deep fried food is so tasty! (Yumir) Shes quick as always to start eating! The moment Claris-san said go ahead, Yumir started chewing something right away. What she ate was something that was deep fried and had green paste within the crust and it was covered in sesame seeds. Thats called Tamiya. Instead of potatoes they use broad beans, its something akin to croquettes. (Claris) Claris-dono, what about this one? (Tobi) Thats a stew called Tagen. With tomato as the base, you can use rice, vegetables, meat or fish. All of them are really tasty. (Claris) Yup, the spices on all these dishes bring forth your appetite. They taste good and eating them warms up your body. However, after some time passes, thanks to the effects of the tomatoes your body would cool down and it felt good. We talked, though it would be better to call it us being engrossed in eating. Thanks to that, our hunger bars were close to 100%. Once we satisfied our stomachs, we started talking again leisurely. So, because the soldiers of this kingdom failed to defeat the monsters boss, the road to the royal capitalthe Lukia desert is infested with snake type monsters. (Hind) Thats the case. Periodically a large specimen will appear, but if you dont defeat it, itll take control of the ecosystem. The baby Horn vipers will suddenly increase in numbers and if we dont deal with them soon- (Claris) Ill take over from here, Claris-chan. ? (Hind) Just when I noticed a low elegant voice cutting in suddenly, a well built man appeared holding food while dragging one of his legs. Eh, could this bethe inn owner? He was wearing an apron and the fragrance of spices was coming from his body. The people that were serving us until a while ago were all gone now. Selene-san was really surprised at the sudden appearance of a third party but shell probably calm down soon enough since Riizu is talking with her. Nice follow up. The one that will have to talk with the owner this time is probably going to be me so theres no issues. Ara, Yaido-san (Claris) Here, Omali for dessert. Ill give these to you free of charge, so will you listen to what I have to say, customers? (Yaido) Ah, this person is the owner of the inn, hes called Yaido-san. After retiring from being a soldier, hes an amazing person that built up this inn within a single generation. During his time as a soldier, he reached the rank of captain. (Claris) You are good at giving compliments as always. That was a long time ago. (Yaido) Ah, no wonder I thought he was well built. He held out the dishes with his well trained arms that were full of small scars, and placed this soup like dish with a sweet fragrance in front of us. It seems to be a dish where bread is soaked in milk and baked, once I took a bite, I felt a bittersweet taste like raisins. Furthermore, this fragrance and texturethese are nuts. Its sweet! Its tasty! (Yumir) Oh, you are quite the honest young lady. I like you! (Yaido) Yaido smiled when he heard Yumirs straightforward compliment and proceeded to tell us about the situation of the soldiers. We dont have much information so I was honestly thankful. According to him, the next generations training hadnt caught up yet so their current military strength was lacking. To begin with, being a soldier wasnt a popular job. Being a guard for a merchant was far more profitable. In terms of salary, I think its gotten better now. Its too late since they failed to defeat the boss though. There hasnt been a war in recent years, so theres been doubts about if we even need to have an armybut what would we do about public order then. (Yaido) With just the people that are there in the location, it would start showing signs of collapse. (Hind) You are right. While I was still in, I demanded over and over that they improved the working conditions. Until I had to retire because of an injury they didnt do anything, and it ended with all my efforts being in vain. (Yaido) When he said that, Yaido-san followed with a heavy sigh. Complaining that it was far more profitable now that he was managing an inn. Once she saw that, Claris-san said this while smiling. The truth is, the name of that army is Deserts Owl. You can see Yaido-sans love for the army in that name. He even went as far as naming the inn with the same name. (Claris) You sure said that in a malicious way, Claris-chan. Well, if I had to sayIm worried about my juniors. So, about the reason I told you about thisthe point is, I want you to take care of subjugating that boss. (Yaido) We all exchanged glances. A quest? This is a quest right? Is what we were all thinking. Except Riizu, the other three were telling me to take it. Without minding us, Yaido-san continued talking. Obviously, Ill give you a reward for it. Furthermore, Ill use my connections to have a suitable reward from the government too. Its an enemy that is disturbing travelling for the people of the desert, we cant ignore it after all. What do you think? Will you take it? (Yaido) Our intention was to go to the royal capital from the start so we dont really mind taking it up but (Hind) Ah, you want to know why I went out of my way to ask this of you? Lets see (Yaido) Yaido-san stood up from his seat, then he stood behind Claris-san and placed a hand on her shoulder. Then he looked at me and asked me. From your point of view, what do you think of Claris-chan? Ah, I mean regarding her as a merchant. I dont mean as a person of the opposite sex. (Yaido) What do I think you sayher ability to take action is very highno, she has a lot of personal connections. We found her by accident, but she was travelling in a wealthy merchants caravan. Even this inn, shes an acquaintance of Yaido-san, right? So, doesnt this mean that shes well liked by merchants? (Hind) Fufu, I was praised by Hind-sama. (Claris) Ah, well, lets leave that aside for now. Now what I was going to say has lost its meaning (Yaido) Eh, dont do that Yaido-san. He finally (Claris) It hurts, it hurts! Who was it, the one that stepped on my foot right now? This is a conversation that might lead to a quest, stop now! Anyway, its just as you said, this girl has a good eye for people. Regarding that old man that lead the caravan, Amin. He might seem crude because of all those jewels on him and the fact that he has grown fat, but hes very serious as a merchant. Hes quite the trustworthy fellow. (Yaido) Even the mercenaries that recompensated Claris-san for her lost belongings are from an organization under the merchant Amin. Since its only been a few days since she visited this country, whats amazing is what Yaido-san said, her discerning eye for people and the speed at which she befriends them. It goes without saying that this is useful as a merchant, we can say without any doubt that this is a gift. Theres also the fact that I heard that visitors hardly ever come to this country, but Claris-chan said that you were amazing. I cant help but have high expectations of you, right? Those are my reasons. (Yaido) As he said that, he passed me a quest request like the one I saw that day. Since it looked like the details were all there, Yaido-san didnt say anything anymore. Once I took it, the rest of the party members simultaneously peered at it. Hey, this is so cramped. Its hard to read it. What I was able to read first was the contents of the request Lord of the Desert?Basilisk subjugation written in an exaggerated way. *End of the chapter* Chapter 54 - Out of place handicraft Regarding the quest reward, first off, it was a skill point book like a standard unique quest. Adding to that, seems like this time well get a large sum of money from Yaido-san and the government. The recommended level of the party for it was 35 or higher, except Selene-san that was slightly lower, we barely satisfied that condition. Anyway, we dont have any choice but to fight it like this. The deadline for the unique quest is short, so I dont think well have spare time to level up. After discussing it among us, we decided to take this quest. We had spent a lot of money on all sorts of things, so I honestly really want to earn some gold. If we kept going like this, the probability of us not being able to make a guild home is pretty high. I see, so you are going to take up our request! (Yaido) Once you have completed the subjugation, please bring back the big horn on its crest. That will be proof that you have defeated the Lord.(Yaido) The Basilisk has a deadly poison. Other than that, theres also the fact that itll petrify its opponent with its gaze. It might be better if you aimed to crush its eyes first.(Yaido) Those were the suggestions we received. Since theres no need to skin in TB, well probably get the crest by defeating it. While thinking stuff like that, we decided to part ways there. After thanking Claris-san for the inn and the meal, we headed to the rooms she prepared for us. She was mindful and separated us in a room for females and another one for males. I parted ways with the girls and entered the room with Tobi but Ooh, this is a VIP room (Hind) There were two pointlessly big beds in the middle of the room. Once I opened a window, there was a splendid view where you could the whole town with a glance. The furnishing was a basic mix of brown and white, the whole room gave off a calm atmosphere. Hah, this feels like such a wastethe room is like this but well only use it to log out. (Tobi) Not like we have a choice. No matter how much you lie down inside the game, the fatigue wont go away. (Hind) Some people say that if you sleep within the game, your stress will go down, but those are just false rumors. Theres no scientific proof of it and the website says that you should rest properly. From personal experience, if I play continuously for more than three hours, my body will feel heavy once I log out. As retaliation for not being able to stay here, I sat down on the bed and enjoyed the softness of it. Tobi seemed to have thought the same thing, so he went to the other bed and lay on his back on it. Nuu. this is so vexing. However, today was really fun. (Tobi) Yeah, it felt like an adventure. We are close to the royal capital, but just thinking about how itll look like makes me feel so excited. (Hind) Its a feeling you dont get often nowadays since information is released on walkthrough sites really fast. If you said that doing stuff without looking at information was good, it would only be for that though. (Tobi) Everything has its pros and cons after all. (Hind) In the age where the Internet hadnt been spread out yet, it seems like people would exchange information about popular games at school with friends. Strangely enough, I can still remember when my dad used to tell me about his childhood in a nostalgic manner. The many retro games I have stored in my rooms closet are games that my dad left behind. Changing topics, from the information they told us, it seems like the Basilisk has plenty of weak points. (Hind) From what we heard from Yaido-dono, because it has strong poison and that petrifying ability, it also has various weak points. (Tobi) Right. So, Id like to make some preparations for the time being. (Hind) Things like the cries of a rooster, or that they dislike weasels, there are many things. However, you cant buy living beings from the trading BBS, it would be hard to buy them in this town. Which means that Theres only one thing that we might be able to prepare. We have some Niter left that was used on the Bo-hiya after all (Hind) Is there any glass? (Tobi) I saw it before in the trading BBS. Since they also sold silveryup, seems like well be able to gather the ingredients. Ill have to be careful when working on it, but itll probably be simplified in this game. (Hind) Well, in this game that kind of thing is done vaguely after all. Someone will probably make them at some point. Ill leave everything to Hind-dono. (Tobi) Yeah. Leave it to me. (Hind) Ill come tomorrow a bit earlier to craft them. Having enough for the party and a few spares should be enough. After that, Im counting on you making my ninja tools! The bo-hiya I used today was the best! (Tobi) Its a mystery how that gunpowder set that kind of explosion. Arent bo-hiyas more of an incendiary bomb type? They are mainly thrown at wooden things. (Hind) Dont worry about those small details! (Tobi) In that case, guess Ill give more importance to realism and make nasty army provisions (Hind) Dont! Who would benefit from that!? (Tobi) The next day, I arrived thirty minutes before the time we set, opened all the windows and started crafting a certain thing. Just in case, I wore gloves and used a cloth to cover my mouth to substitute a mask. As always, the chemical reactions and the process of drying progressed in an instant. Ohdidnt this turn out quite well? (Hind) Since there wasnt anyone that would give me a reaction, I muttered that by myself. I held it up high and smiled with satisfaction. What I made was a modern mirror using silver mirror reaction. As a countermeasure against the Basilisks gaze, anything would have been fine as long as it was a mirror, but since I was going to make it anyway, I tried making something that didnt exist in this world. The total amount I made was ten of the size of a hand mirror and I placed them in suitable frames and they were done. At that moment, I heard knocking from the door. I made sure that there was no smell left in the room, threw the scattered materials into my inventory and replied with a come in. The one that showed her face was Claris-san. Hind-sama, can we talk for a bitara? Araara? (Claris) Whats wrong? Ah. (Hind) I followed Claris-sans gaze and there was a mirror that I forgot to hide lying there She went past me, took it in her hand and her eyes were glued to it. After staring at her own face reflected in the mirror as if she was seeing something odd, this time she used it to look around the room. After repeating the action of comparing what she saw in the mirror and what her own eyes saw over and over, she finally opened her mouth. I-Is thisa mirror!? However, it is this clearhow is it possible (Claris) Ah, ah (Hind) Hind-sama, where did you obtain this mirror!? Please, tell me! Please, please! I beg you! (Claris) Ooooh, please calm doooown! Dont shake meeee! Ill tell you, Ill tell yooouuu! (Hind) She grabbed me from the bottom of my neck and shook me back and forth over and over. Im starting to feel sick from having my brain shook In the middle ages, mirrors are mainly made by polishing metals like copper, tin and mercury. Obviously, they are mostly inferior to the ones we make nowadays. The method of silver mirror reaction I used this time was something born in the 19th century after all. In other words, this mirror is something that is out of place within the world of TB. This was made by Hind-sama? Is that really true!? (Claris) Your face is too close, its too close Claris-san. (Hind) Ah, Im sorry. (Claris) Its understandable that shes excited as a merchant. However, the NPCs AI in TB is really amazingto think their reactions were at this level. That she was able to recognize that as mirror alone, would differentiate her from an average AI. To accept something that goes beyond your understanding in a moment is something that is hard even for normal people. However, having reached this point, I can sort of guess what shes going to say next Hind-sama, please sell me this mirror! Ill help you distribute it! Ill definitely not make it unprofitable, so please! (Claris) Claris-sans merchant soul was burning. *End of the chapter* Chapter 55 - Lukia desert So, in the end you lost against her enthusiasm and signed a contract. Then you told her how to make them. (Riizu) Something like thatshe seemed confident that they would sell, the contract was made so that it would definitely not turn unprofitable for me. She rushed over to that wealthy merchant Amin with the mirror. (Hind) The number of mirrors I had at hand right now were exactly five. The rest I handed over to Claris-san in exchange for the contract money as samples. Right now, Im waiting inside the inn for everyone to gather. Since Selene-san was the only one left, we were currently waiting in the girls room. Ah, Ill hand the mirrors over. When the Basilisk uses its petrifying attack, try to test it. Even if it fails, I can use recover on you, so its fine to be proactive. (Hind) Fumu, to give a girl a mirror (Yumir) So you are saying that I should polish myself more for Hind-sans sake right? I understand. (Riizu) Hind-dono, you sure are cruel (Tobi) Hey, you are saying all this even though you know what they are for, right? Just so you know, it doesnt have any deeper meaning ok? To begin with, there wouldnt be any issues even if you didnt polish your appearance more. You group of beauties. (Hind) In the past, the times where giving someone a mirror wasnt a good thing were often. As these guys have said, there were cases where it had the insulting meaning of look at yourself in the mirror more and since they broke easily too, they were also a sign of bad omen. However, since I wasnt giving them the mirrors as a gift right now, it has no relation to that kind of thing. If you tell me Im beautiful straightly like that, Ill get embarrassed. (Tobi) Why are you the one getting embarrassed first? Ill bury you up to the head in the desert. (Yumir) Thats mean! (Tobi) In contrast, apart from Tobi, the other twos faces were slowly turning red. Even though they should be used to receiving compliments, why do they overreact like this? At that time, a light was born inside the room and from within, Selene-san appeared. Im sorry, did I make you wait? (Selene) O-Oh, Secchan! There are no problems! (Yumir) Y-Yes, its only been about five minutes since everyone gathered! Theres no issues! None! (Riizu) ?? Isthat so? (Selene) I handed a mirror to Selene-san, who just logged in. When I gave it to her, she made a saddened face for some reason As expected, would it better if I was a bit more feminine? (Selene) No, thats not what that mirror is for (Hind) Once I explained that it was a countermeasure against the Basilisk, Selene-san hung her head down and covered her face in an act of embarrassment. Riizu then started to lightly hit her back without changing her expression. I feel bad for her, but I would rather not repeat the gag. With Oasis town, Maija at the center, there were two huge deserts in the vicinity. One of them was the one we passed through in the east side Yabilga desert. The other one is on the west side of Maija, this one continues until the Royal capital Waaha and is called Lukia desert. Having finished our preparations, we set foot in Lukia desert. Claris-san said that the ecosystem was strange but it was beyond our expectations, if we let our guard down and the camels slide, snakes would twine around them. They were called Horn vipers and if I had to describe them in a few words, Id say they are small basilisks. Seems like these will mutate and become basilisks, so I guess it goes without saying that they are like this. They cant petrify, but they have strong poison, just now including the camels, someone got poisoned, so I rotated Recover between them. However, we were fighting while travelling, so I couldnt stand still to charge my MP and was in this awkward position where I had to use a large amount of MP potions. Since we were fighting while riding on the camels, it was also painful how useless our two vanguards were because they lacked ranged attacks. Given the fact that Yumirs sword wasnt a longsword, her attacks sometimes hit and other times missed. Since Tobi used two tantous, his reach was hopeless from the start. The sword wont hiiiiiiiiit!! Im getting stressed ouuuuuut!! (Yumir) I cant do anything! Gah! (Tobi) That being said, in order to stop this swarm of snakes, we have no other choice but to defeat the Basilisk. Originally, Horn vipers dont act as a group, so if theres not a Basilisk leading them, they dont pose that much of a threat. Thats why, we have no choice but to not stop right now. From what they said, the army fought the basilisk in the vicinity of a rocky area but Hind-kun, I saw it! The rocky area! (Selene) Lead the way please! (Hind) Since I cant see anything with my eyes, Ill have Selene-san take the lead. After proceeding for a while, we started seeing a ragged rocky terrain but something was odd. The surface was twisting and wrigglingwhoa. Wait, could it be that they are all snakes!? (Hind) You are right! It looks like a bucket full of eels! So gross! (Yumir) Im getting serious nausea (Riizu) I-Is Selene-dono fine after being the first one to see that? (Tobi) Ah, Im the type of person that is fine with reptiles. (Selene) Really!? We discovered an unexpected truth here, but the current situation was highly unpredictable. The rocky area didnt have any cracks and it was crawling with Horn vipers and we now had to plunge into there but Id like to have some spare energy left and itll be quite hard if I dont recover my MP first. Can we do something about thiswe slowed down our pace and looked at the rocky area while we drew closer. Bushiiiiiii! !? (Hind) It might have been because we were negligent in our defense now that I think about it, by the time I noticed, several snakes were clinging onto my camel. However, suddenly my camel spit a large amount of saliva onto the ground. When it did so The snakesare running away? Wait, it stinks! (Hind) It stinks! Whats this!? (Yumir) Its the camels saliva! However, this (Hind) Having gained a hint, I searched through my inventory. If I remember correctly, there was that prototype ninja gear for Tobiah, here it is! Alright, lets proceed until the rocky area first. There, well prepare for the fight. (Hind) Are you insane!? So you mean that we should get there, exterminate the snakes and secure the place (Tobi) Theres no need for that! Anyway, follow me! (Hind) Once I got closer to the rocky area, I took out the ball from my inventory and threw it. Once the ball hit the rocks it broke in pieces, disappeared into the sandstorm and scattered a red dust. Oh!? (Yumir) Whats this dust? (Riizu) Its bright red fine powder that is floating around butWacchi, what did you throw!? (Tobi) Its a red pepper bomb! I made it as a bonus when making the bo-hiya! (Hind) T-That sounds quite effective (Selene) Yeah, now that I think about it, snakes have a developed sense of smell. Which means (Riizu) As if to support Riizus words, the Horn vipers scattered from the rocky area like baby spiders and disappeared in unison. The truth is, I made it as an anti-personnel weapon to use against PKsbut to think it would make its first appearance here. Once the dust settled, we advanced towards the rocky area and hurriedly prepared for the next battle. For some time, they should be wary of the smell of red pepper and probably wont get close. Alright, gather up! Im going to use area heal! (Hind) I used the skill Area Heal that I got a while back on the rocky area once I made sure that everyone had gathered. At our feet, a big magic circle appeared and it emitted a white light. This is the type of healing magic that you have to designate an area, unless the targets are inside, theres no meaning in using it so its a skill thats a bit hard to use. While our party was inside, our HP gradually recovered. However, if you were inside from beginning to end, the amount of HP recovered was extraordinary, the members of the party that were inside the formation healed multiple times and recovered up to full HP. Incidentally, since the camels had also taken a small amount of damage and were inside the formation too, they were able to recover their HP. Hah, we can finally take a break. (Selene) Secchan played a very active part. (Riizu) No, its Riizu-chan who used magic with great timing. Good job on the healing too Hind-kun. I believe it was perfect support. (Selene) Though our MP potions decreased by a big amount. Since weve come to the desert, its been all battles of endurance. (Hind) Once we finish making the home, lets make our own potions. Ill help you, Hind-san. (Riizu) Right (Hind) Where most of our expenses go to are healing items. If the party had two shinto priests, the expenses would definitely decrease, but since Im the only one in this party, it wont go that way. While the rear guards were exchanging such praises for our effort, the same couldnt be said for our vanguards Where is itcome out, Basiliiiiiiiiiisk! (Yumir) My blades seek bloooooooood! Prey, where is the preeeeeey!! (Tobi) They were getting irritated. It might have been because they couldnt fight properly, both of them seemed to have quite the dissatisfaction piled up. Since snakes dont have ears, it doesnt really matter how much noise they make though Shyururururu Ah It was probably because it felt the vibrations made by the sound. While taking in and out its bifurcated tongue That was glaring at us from a distant elevated place. Like we were told, it had a crest-like horn, sharp pointed fangs and physique like a big tree. As if it was responding to both of their voices, a giant snake that you would mistake for a mountain appeared. Chapter 56 - Serpent?Basilisk F-For the time being, lets spread out! (Hind) Right after I shouted that, the Basilisks eyes shone with a suspicious light They released a laser beam-like effect and it shot its petrifying attack. We were able to somehow get away from it, but there was a camel that was too late M-My cameeeeeeeeel!! (Tobi) It got petrified. I returned and collected the rest of the camels that were trying to run away in all directions due to panicking and cast Recover on the one that Tobi rode. I seized the reins of the camel that had a dumb face as if it didnt understand what had happened to him after it returned to normal. Im going to evacuate the camels! Ill leave the fighting to you for a short while! (Hind) Understood, Hind-san! (Riizu) Once I cast all the buffs on the party members, I took the reins and pulled the camels to the shade of a rock. I took a glance at Riizu who had used Slow and made the camels stand there at a sufficient distance. If its hereit should be fine? oooooooOOOOOGYO!? (Yumir) Hii! W-WhatYu-Yumir? (Hind) Just when I was thinking that Yumir was suddenly flying in the sky, she died from fall damage in front of me. After that, I looked towards the thunderous sound I could hear and I saw the Basilisk swinging around its tail in a fit of rage. It looked like Riizu had placed plenty of debuffs on it, but even then, it still had an overwhelming amount of strength left. I used Revive on Yumir and when she got up I healed her HP with a potion and Heal. When Yumir abruptly got up, she started looking around as if to understand the situation. Gyo? Gyogyogyo? (Yumir) Ah? Oh? You words are all weird now! I dont get what you are trying to say! (Hind) Gyogyo!Cough, cough! Hind, its wriggling around and I cant hit it with my sword! Im getting even more irritateeeeeed! (Yumir) Ah, sure sure. Ill try to leave the finishing blow to you, so try to calm down. Come on, lets return to the battle. (Hind) Uuuu! (Yumir) She probably was quite irritated, charged into it and self destructed. Currently, Tobi was skillfully dodging its attacks and reliably dealing some damage. However, it might have been because he was the only vanguard, he was immediately shot and the Cicada technique that replaced him was destroyed. Since it seemed like Tobi used Cicada technique right after it was back up from CD, I assisted him with Quick. With this he should be able to immediately use it again. Oh!? My CDHind-dono, you are back! (Tobi) Kept you waiting. Whats the situation? (Hind) We have already used all our debuffs. The poison and tail attacks cover a wide area, but since they are big attacks there arent any issues dodging them. (Riizu) Got it. Selene-san, think youll be able to aim at the eyes? (Hind) Even when its slowed its movements are fast and irregular, so itll be a bit difficult. Since the head is also quite high, it doesnt seem like Tobi-kuns shadow weaving will be effective. (Selene) Alright, then lets do it steadily. Instead of aiming for the head, lets shave off its HP slowly! (Hind) Acknowledged! (Selene) Most of the monsters weaknesses were around its head. It might be easier to aim at them if it tried to use a bite attack, but the Basilisk stubbornly stayed upright and its posture didnt break. The venom and the petrifying gaze were both ranged attacks, so it probably meant that there was no need to lower its headjust when I was having those thoughts, a petrifying attack came close to where I was! Yumir, its going your way! (Hind) OK! Take thiiiiis! (Yumir) Yumir quickly took out the mirror from her bag and beautifully reflected the petrifying laser. As expected of her reflexes, though it might have been because the angle was bad but it only ended up grazing the Basilisks body. Even then, it got petrified and its movements dulled, I was about to say it was a chance to attack simultaneously but W-What!? (Hind) The Basilisk started trembling and in the next momentslipped off. The parts that were petrified, the skin was left behind. Furthermore, it showed that it had healed, we had managed to bring it down to about 50% HP but now it was full again. Thats cheating! Thats so not fair! (Tobi) Damn it, we are doing it again! It could be a one time use unique movement! (Hind) Thinking that it wouldnt shed its skin the next time, we shaved off its HP under 50% again. However Shaaaaaaaaa!! !! Hind-kun, its doing it again! (Selene) So it was no good! (Hind) When it went under 50% HP, the Basilisk shedded its skin again. This feeling of wasted effort We did the same thing again just in case, but the results were the same. From the looks of it, it seems like once it reaches 50% HP it will shed its skin without fail. Riizu saw that we were making no progress, so she rushed over to me and talked to me. What should we do, Hind-san? (Riizu) If its like this, we can only do one thing. Well shave off its HP until its close to 50%, then well attack in unison before it can fully recover. If we cant beat it with that, well retreat without giving it a second thought. (Hind) However, its weakness is its head right? How are we going to stop its movements? (Riizu) When it first shed its skin, it seemed like the petrified portions were in its way and it took longer to shed than the 2nd and 3rd times. We have no choice but to reflect it with the mirror well and try to petrify it. (Hind) What are you both babbling about!? Its dangerous! (Yumir) !! (Hind and Riizu) Yumir rushed up to us while holding up the mirror and managed to reflect the petrifying attack by a hairs breadth. The reflected laser veered off the Basilisk by a wide margin and the deserts sand was turned into stone in an instant. The reason this vicinity is full or rocks is because of this Damn, its hard to angle this! It bends more than I expect it to! (Yumir) My bad, Yumir! You saved us! However, please try to win us some time! (Hind) -Nuh!? So you got a plan? (Yumir) Yeah. Leave it to me! (Hind) Alright, in that case Ill be going! (Yumir) Yumir kicked the sand and started running. I saw how she dived into the sandstorm with her waving silver hair alongside her tempestuous aura, then I filled Riizu in with the battle strategy. We dont have much time. Its like that. What do you think? Think youll be able to pull it off? (Hind) Yes, I can already read its trajectory. Theres also no issues about coordinating with its HP. (Riizu) OK, you are the key to this fight. Im counting on you. (Hind) Leave it to me. (Riizu) Like that, I returned to the battle with Riizu and talked to them. I shouted the strategy in a tone such that everyone would be able to hear me. Listen up, listen to me as you are! While being careful of your CDs, shave off its HP to about 60%! The rest of the adjustments will be left to Riizu, so once it reaches that point well retreat! Be careful so you dont end up using powerful skills! (Hind) Understood! (Yumir) So we are going to attack it simultaneously, huh? Thats also good! (Tobi) Ill do my best to shave off its HP! (Selene) OK, I was able to convey my intentions. From that point on, we mainly used basic attacks, we slowly and carefully continued to attack and defend. I was concentrating on healing, but I made sure to stop and keep my MP close to full. Given this situation, its this amount of MP, depending on the situation this changes after all. Hind-kun, its about time! (Selene) Alright, everyone stop attacking! Now retreat while recovering yourselves with healing items! Riizu! (Hind) Yes! (Riizu) Each member used their own healing items and stopped attacking. Temporarily there was a variance in aggro, but since it was only Riizu attacking it, it was easy for the Basilisk to start aiming at her. With this, we have no choice but to just look for the time being but After a big amount of HP was shaved off the Basilisk by the Darkness Ball that she cast, she made small adjustments with Fire Ball. She calmly dodged the tail attacks and a small smile showed on Riizus face. Ooh, thats amazing! Riizu-dono! (Tobi) Shesbringing it down to just barely above 50%? (Yumir) Shes perfectly managing her damage You are telling me that she even understands the variance in numbers between attacks!? (Selene) All thats left is to wait for the petrifying attack butIm counting on you, Riizu (Hind) Since its HP was getting close to the 50% mark, Riizu prepared to escape. However, the petrifying attack of the Basilisk we were aiming for wasnt coming. She dodged the venom and evaded the huge body that sprang forward, gradually, Riizu started breathing heavily. This is so vexingnot being able to do anything but watch! Ah! (Riizu) !? Riizu, look out! (Hind) Immediately after that, Riizu fell over because her feet got caught in the sand and the Basilisks tail approached her. I reflexively leaped forward and pulled Riizus light body with all my strength. -Gah!? (Hind) There was an impact. I took the serpents attack directly and my body made a somersault above the desert and rolled on the sand. Since I was close to death, my field of view was dyed bright red. I thought I was going to pass out but I managed to pull myself together and checked my HP, it seems like I was able to avoid dying. With my field of view dyed red I stood up and I saw the back of Riizu, who stood up in front of me holding up the mirror to protect me- Taking into consideration the atmosphere and the sandstormits here! (Riizu) The Basilisks eyes shone and released its petrifying attack aiming at us. Riizu reflected it and it went in a straight line towards the Basilisks body and it was absorbed by it. Like that, she shifted the angle of the mirror and Riizu poured the beam over the Basilisks entire body. !!?? The Basilisk got petrified from the tail to the head, and it crumbled down on top of the sand while making a dry sound. Once she saw that, Riizu headed towards me and sprinkled me with potions. Ah, wait no, shes using too many! Because she alternated between beginner potions and intermediate ones, my HP was already full. RiizuRiizu! Im fine already! Look, the battle is not over yet! (Hind) Yes. I wont forgive that rotten reptile. Ill tear it to pieces, cook it and feed it to the pigs. (Riizu) I believe the corpse wont remain thoughanyway, we should also go! (Hind) The other three were already waiting close to the Basilisks head now that it had fallen over. If we dont hurry up, itll get out its petrification and start shedding its skin. Once I returned, they all looked at me with a mix of worried and exasperated faces. Hind, dont be that rash. Though its fine since you didnt die. (Yumir) Sorry. So, we cant damage it while its petrified as expected? (Hind) Basic attacks dealt 0 damage. Even if we used skills, it would probably be the same. (Tobi) Since its not disappearing even when its whole body is petrified, it probably means that its not defeated yetI believe itll start shedding its skin soon. (Selene) In that case, well focus all our firepower only on its head when it sheds its skin. Since the shedding starts from its head, it will heal when the skin of the tail is shed. Well defeat it before it ends! (Hind) We readied our weapons. I cast attack buffs on everyone and then charged my MP. I still cant see the Basilisk moving. The heat of the desert, slowly burned our backs. Im so nervous that I cant stop sweating. Immediately after someone gulped and their throat made a soundthe petrified surface started peeling and the exposed head appeared. It then glared at us- Now! Everyone, deal as much damage as you can! Gooooooooo! (Hind) OOOOOOOOOH! (Yumir) SEEEEEEEEI! (Tobi) Each time someone released a skill, sand fluttered everywhere. Bolts roared, swords fluttered, dangers minced and magic hollowed out its flesh. This isthe eeeend! (Yumir) Yumir released her new skill Burst Edge while having Act of Desperation activated. It consumed all the remaining MP and it took about 20% of the Basilisks HP in a single strike. Its fitting of the attack type, its a sure-kill skill that wont leave anything behind. However No way! (Yumir) Once the cloud of sand released because of the skill settled down, the Basilisk was still not defeated. Its remaining HP was about 10% Once I took a look at the other members remaining MP, they were already dry. It was probably because everyones MP potions were on CD, no one was trying to recover. I had already used mine for Selene-sans skill. Furthermore, we all shouted that our offensive skills were on CD, now we switched to basic attacks. While we were doing that, the shedding progressed, about half of its body was released from the petrification. The party members grew impatient. However, I conserved my MP for this moment. Since Shining and basic attacks were like a drop in the ocean, I still hadnt contributed much to shaving off its HP. If I didnt work here, there was no meaning in me being in the party. First of all, I cast Quick on Yumir! With this, she can use Burst edge again. Its no use, Hind! Even if I can use the skill, I dont have enough MP! The potion wont make it in time! (Yumir) I didnt reply to Yumirs words and followed with the next move. After a short chant, a ball of light appeared in my palm and I threw it at Yumirs back. Theres also this! Dont give up! Take mine, Yumir! (Hind) T-This is! This can work, I can do it! Take thiiiiis!! (Yumir) What I cast was the magic that handed over your own MP to the target Entrust. A Shinto priests maximum MP is higher than a knights. Even if it has decreased because I used Quick, it was enough to fill up a knights MP! Having completely recovered her MP, a huge amount of magical power erupted from her sword again. *End of the chapter* Im back again, not sure if Ill be able to have the next chapter ready in time but Ill try to get back on schedule. Figured it would be a good time to make a post like this. Please head to the following link to reach the Patreon post I have released to the public if you can spare a couple minutes. Its basically me asking for feedback and talking a bit about the current situation. As always, if you want to support me, consider making a pledge there too and gain access to an extra chapter. Feedback Post Chapter 57 - Reaching the royal capital and end of the journey Yumir pierced the Basilisk in the area between the eyebrows and light gushed out. Before long, it spread out throughout its whole body andthe basilisk ended up crumbling into pieces. As if to show that it was a formidable opponent, the light ascended towards the sky. All members of the party looked at this dumbfounded while breathing heavily. Uoooooooooooo!! (Yumir) Yumir was the first one to come to her senses and shouted. OAaaaaaaaaaaa!! (Tobi) Then, Tobi shouted too. Alriiiiiiight!! (Hind) Finally, I shouted too. After that, the three of us exchanged high fives and I handshaked up and down vigorously with the smiling Selene-san. Then I hugged Riizu who was looking at us bewildered. Eh, you seeI-Im happy but- (Riizu) Ahahaha! We won, Riizu we won! (Hind) You look very happy, Nii-sanfufu (Riizu) Like that, I carried her in my arms and started spinning around but a weight was added to my back. I wasnt able to support the weight of two people and I collapsed on top of the soft sand while covering Riizu so that she doesnt end up being crushed. Who was it!? Though, I dont even have to ask. It was only Yumir, the only one that would do this kind of thing to me. Hind! Even though you were indifferent back then with the Ogre, you sure look quite happy this time! (Yumir) The effort it took compared to that time is different! Or rather, its heavy, its heavy!! (Hind) What did you say!? Im not that heavy! (Yumir) Im not talking about your body weight! Think about your defensive gear! (Hind) In that case, me too. (Tobi) M-Me too (Selene) W-Why are you all leaning on me-Gueh!! (Hind) Maybe it was because they have checked that it was safe already, even the camels were making a What are these guys doing?face and we continued to make noise while being intoxicated in our victory. When we calmed down, we got on top of our camels and progressed through the desert again. Looking at the map, it seems like the rocky area was in the middle of the desert, so we decided not to return to Maija and head towards the Royal capital, Waaha. The Serpents Crest that was proof of the quest appeared inside our inventory as we expected since it was a drop item. Furthermore, as Claris-san had said, the Horn Vipers all disappeared after we defeated the Basilisk. Right now, the Desert Scorpions that were in the Yabilga Desert appeared from time to time and we were able to travel quite comfortably. However, it was quite the hard opponent. To think that it had that much firepower. (Hind) Yup, maybe we should have known because of the recommended level and the number of party members it recommended? (Selene) Probably. However, in this game, we see quite often unreasonable beginner killers, right? The deadline was also short, the quest we took this time was quite nasty. (Hind) Since we had some leeway now, we carefreely chatted while walking beside the camels. We only had to speed up a bit if we saw monsters, so well probably be able to proceed without fighting as long as a new speed type monster doesnt appear. It was the worst type of boss for players that want to fight stably and have a battle of attrition. (Tobi) Its checkmate the moment you dont have enough firepower after all. If you cant beat it, you would level up, upgrade your weapons and as a last resort you would make a party with jobs that had firepower, something like that?. Since the amount of gold they reward will be exceptional, I believe it cant be helped that it was that hard? (Hind) It was nice that we were able to defeat it on our first try. (Yumir) Its not an enemy I would like to fight againthough its a shame that it didnt leave a corpse behind. (Riizu) If it left a corpse behind, what were you planning to do with it? (Yumir) While we were chatting, we were slowly reaching the destination on our map. We knew about the location of the place from that time we heard information from Claris-san. From this distance, well probably see the royal capital in a few minutes. This time, Riizu was impressive. The damage adjustments and how she extended the time it took until the basilisk healed by petrying it was a big deal. (Hind) If you are going that far, that was all thanks to Hind-san preparing those mirrors beforehand. (Riizu) Ahhaha, guess so. Exchanging praise is embarrassing so lets stop. So, since we are going to reach the royal capital soon, should we report on the quest first? I wonder if Ill be able to enter the royal palace? (Hind) You are right. If we said that we came from Maija town via the Lukia Desert, that alone will probably make a disturbancewonder if its better if we contacted Yaido-san and have him link us with them? (Selene) Just as Selene-san has said, that way is probably more reasonable. If we entered the capital from the Lukia Desert, I believe they would know about the situation anyway though. Lets have Yaido-san, who served in the royal palace originally, do something about it. However, since his leg is hurt, I dont know if hell come personally or not though. Right. Since going there would be a pain, shall we write him a letter from the royal capital? Seems like they use camels to do that. (Hind) Though they probably wont deliver it until they make sure that the desert is completely safe. Even then, returning after just reaching the royal capital would honestly be tiring. Oh, in that case, isnt it the perfect time to search for a suitable place for our guild home!? (Yumir) Right. I believe the home is chosen among the vacant houses within the town? (Hind) Thats the case. The inside is another dimension so its spacious, so we dont have to think if the building and the rooms are small or big. However, if the location and the initial accommodations are good, the property will have a suitable high price. (Tobi) Thats like real life then. I bet houses are expensive in the royal capital (Hind) On the other hand, if we wanted to set the home in a cheap location, it would be fine to choose a rural town in the outskirts. Obviously, with fewer people a unique quest probably wont happen and trading with NPCs would be hard. In those cases, the type of goods that shops sell would also be lacking. However, its not like it would be all bad, its convenient to secure a place in the countryside if you want to do stuff like agriculture and livestock raising, so its nice if it fits your playstyle. In our case, we dont have to think that deeply about it and we plan to set the home in the royal capital somehow. In that case, once we reach it well choose a place for the homeeh? (Hind) I think Im forgetting about something. However, after we crossed a hill in the desert we saw the royal capital and I interrupted that thought. The party members let out comments of admiration and the camels small throats snorted. Royal capital, Waaha was bigger than I imagined. There was sand as far as the eyes could see and within that, rectangular buildings of ashen color were built close to each other. A mirage obstructed us and we couldnt get a panoramic view of it, I could slightly see a magnificent palace in the inner parts of itor thats what I think. We have arrived! (Yumir) Yumir raised both of her arms and shouted on top of the camel. We all took that as a Im glad that the journey is over, exchanged glances and smiled. It was at that time. The ground around us started rising along with a sound. From within, a poisonous-like color scorpion, twice the size of a Desert Scorpion appeared. Its level was 37 and its name was Venom Scorpion. U-Uh? EhHind-kun? Whats this monster? (Selene) Ah, rightthis, this is what I forgot about. Sorry about this, everyone. I forgot to tell you that this desert is a normal field. Which means (Hind) O-Ohin that case there would be one, a field boss (Yumir) This monster sure cant read the mood (Tobi) No, I believe it is also bewildered. Even though it made an entrance as usual, we are reacting like this. (Riizu) While looking at us, who had not taken up our weapons, the Venom Scorpion made sounds with its claws. If this wasnt a large scale field it was obvious that there would be a field boss close to the exit We completely forgot about its existence and we entered the mood of Its finally over once we all saw the royal capital. While not feeling very motivated, we found shelter for the camels and started the fight. However, I guess I should say that it was expected, it wasnt stronger than the Basilisk, we easily defeated it and reached the capital.dv Chapter 58 - Lets show the appeal of the desert It was late Wednesday night, we were holding back until tomorrows update to complete getting our guild home. Unlike usual, I was alone in my room reading the BBS. The reason for it was because Shuuhei said Since we are always getting information from the BBS, we should also give information to them from time to time! Lets do it together, Wacchi!. I thought he was right, so that led to me turning on the PC and post in the BBS, which was something I wasnt used to doing. I shouldnt get impatient and start by reading the flow of the thread first. Since Shuuhei should have uploaded those screenshots of the dusk in the desert, lets start by reading the replies from that point onwards. Oh, its here. He made a mistake that gave the fact that he was Shuuhei right awaythough I believe it would be better if he checked before posting. Lets] Thread number 6 of walking leisurely around the TB worldtravel via donkey] This is a thread for reporting information about things youve found in the world of the VRMMORPG TrailBlazer. Regarding the place you witnessed it, the credibility will increase if you provide things like a screenshot and the coordinates and place within the game. I couldnt memorize it, I didnt have the time to do it! For these kind of people, its fine if you mention the nearest facility or landmark. The current topic is about the vicinity of the Capital of the Empire and also the four countries in the outskirts. The next thread will be made once we reach >>>950 comments. 555Nameless light warriorIDTdxeQgX Since I have reached the desert, Ill post information about it right away! Image] Setting sun in the desert. Image] Same as above. Image] With the camels. Image] Silhouette scenery. The desert is overflowing with romanticism! Everyone, gather here! 556Nameless mageIDwnLhkk8 Gozaru? 557Nameless archerIDADFEgic Gozaru 558Nameless mageIDwnLhkk8 Yup, though the images are splendid. Its cool and lovely, like a scene from a road movie. However, because of @555s way of speaking, it doesnt really register in my head LOL. 559Nameless archerIDzUcjwLQ Is this guy a ninja? LOL. 560Nameless Shinto priestIDwQdumQd No no, couldnt it be an internet slang from a long time ago? 561Nameless heavy warriorIDacXutcw Otakus that use gozaru have been gone since a long time ago! You see from time to time light warrior players that are wearing ninja costumes, isnt he one of those? 562Nameless Shinto PriestIDyjs2NQ7 Now that you mention it, there was one in the Hero-chans party, right? The ninja that used shadow weaving. From his eyes, he kinda gave the aura of a good-looking guy. 563Nameless archerIDTcdhRge After that event they have increased in numbers after all, not as much as knights though. The number of crafters that make Japanese style equipment has also increased. To begin with, light warriors skill names are Japanese style for some reason. 564Nameless martial artistIDQDEdneE We are slowly getting off-topic. 565Nameless light warriorIDTdxeQgX B-because of my slip of tongue the flow of the thread issorry, forgive me! Just as @563 has said, I play as a ninja in TB and you could think of it as me talking like that out of habit. More importantly, the desert! The images of the desert! What do you think? 566Nameless heavy warriorIDrJ5g3aN Random comment passing by!! 1 567Nameless knightIDMnYwnDh Its true that the evening in the desert is pleasant, I cant get enough of that feeling of desolation. Personally, Ive taken a bit of an interest in it. 568Nameless archerIDtxh7r85 It has quite the stylish ambience. Though it might be because the screenshots were taken well. By the way, how much did the camels cost? 569Nameless light warriorIDafpzsjS Who was that just now? 570Nameless light warriorIDTdxeQgX @568 When we bought them they were below the average market price, but the NPC said that they were usually sold for around 100.000G. 571Nameless archerIDtxh7r85 So twice the amount compared to a donkey, huh? Though thats perfectly fine compared to horses. 572Nameless mageIDy2LuaYU Its nothing compared to 1.000.000G right? LMAO. Theres also the fact that the title of this thread is that. 573Nameless heavy warriorIDwyftRdS Its only the donkeys, that are our allies Though Id really like to have a horse to take a stroll. Capture a wild one?(d??? ) (No way) 574Nameless knightID5C8VeXF I believe that camels were no good for mountain roads? 575Nameless light warriorIDTdxeQgX @574 Yup, though there are some ups and downs in the desert. Theyll slow down quite a bit if you ascend or descend a tough hill. It seems like their strong point is walking on even ground. 576Nameless knightID5C8VeXF In that case, they are no good where Im at. I went to the Beli confederation. 577Nameless mageIDL98DcjE Wasnt it cold to begin with? The north side. Wouldnt a camel die there? 578Nameless martial artistIDQDEdneE No, camels can resist the cold. The winters in the desert are cold, they can properly grow winter fur. The problem is the terrain, the terrain. 579Nameless Shinto priestIDefYpjDp The east and south sides have stable climates. Theres also the empire in the middle. Though we dont know if there are seasons in TB yet. 580Nameless light warriorIDTdxeQgX Speaking of the desert, theres one thing that I was surprised about. It seems like youll get the status ailment burn if you dont wear proper attire, so you have to conceal your skin by wearing light colored overcoats. 581Nameless knightID5C8VeXF Youll also get frostbite if you are lightly dressed in the north. Adding to the DoT you get afflicted with, you get double the pain because it gets harder to move and your hands will shake from holding the pickaxe! 582Nameless mageID3ZeYEDE I understand completely that you guys have strange tastes. Especially that desert guy LOL. 583Nameless light warriorIDTdxeQgX Eh, why? 584Nameless mageID3ZeYEDE Even if the north side is cold, I heard that there are plenty of minerals, but there are no benefits to counter the demerits of the west! 585Nameless light warriorIDTdxeQgX There is, its romantic! 586Nameless heavy warriorID8mn83SK Romanticism wont fill up your belly! 587Nameless archerIDr3ZLZAM Either way, no matter how much you eat in TB, your stomach wont get filled up though. Its not even linked to the satiety center so it feels like youll even forget to simply eat. 588Nameless light warriorID365Fird I get that. Its quite serious when you notice that your HP has started decreasing LOL. 589Nameless martial artistIDyCSSDYZ It cant be helped since it would be bad if they removed the current appetite status. Lets just get used to checking our status. 590Nameless mageIDQi6pnn9 This is turning into the usual idle talk thread againcan anyone post some screenshots? 591Nameless light warriorIDTdxeQgX Guess I have no choice. Ill post some screenshots of the night in the desert and leave it for today. The place the screenshots are taken is Oasis town, Maija. I hope that by using this, more players will come to the desert Image] Desert and the moon. Image] Night view in the oasis town. Image] Oasis and moon. 592Nameless mageIDQWkFZyA Its beautiful how the moon is reflected in the oasis waters surface. The scenery is perfect The atmosphere of the town also seems good, however, the desert sounds harsh. 593Nameless Shinto priestIDmfN389Q There are still a lot of players that havent left the Empire after all. 594Nameless light warriorID9tdgujh Thats true. Youd need to be at least level 30. 595Nameless knightIDMnYwnDh I cant really say with how this thread is going, that Im honestly getting urges to go and see it. 596Nameless knightIDBTRVAxy Good for you @591. Im pretty sure you are already seeing it, your propaganda is working! ** Yup, Shuuhei is working hard there. Guess it should be good enough if I introduced the name of the country and the royal palace. Lets seein the section of your name you have to type your job, huh. Well, theres no reason to lie, Ill just go with Shinto priest. ** 831Nameless Shinto priestIDFEtME3Z Im reporting here since we have confirmed various things related to the desert. First off, the name of the country is Deserts country Sala. The capital is called Royal capital Waaha and the following images will show how it looks during daytime. Image] Panoramic view of the town. Image] State of the market. Image] A multi-use big stable for camels and horses. Image] Residential area. 832Nameless martial artistID7m28Ke6 Oh, its been some time since new information has come out! 833Nameless heavy warriorIDxAPrxUD The information from the other countries were already released after all. Even that small amount of players that headed towards the desert were able to reach the capital before the update, huh? Well done! 834Nameless knightIDJSW7JDH That town is really big. Isnt this bigger than the capitals in the other countries? 835Nameless Shinto priestIDFEtME3Z Because its the desert. The people will gather where there are sources of water, I believe its because the places without water are clearly defined. 836Nameless mageIDR9TdKNH Are you a friend of that light warrior that was here before? 837Nameless Shinto priestIDFEtME3Z Why are you asking that? 838Nameless mageIDR9TdKNH Nothing, I was just thinking that because theres only been another person that has uploaded images of the desert so far. 839Nameless knightIDJSW7JDH Thats not something you should ask in this kind of anonymous board. Thats bad manners. 840Nameless light warriorIDWmW8aX5 Since its not like we are asking anything personal, shouldnt it be fine? ** Eh, what should I do herethe flow of the thread is bad. Its probably because Im not used to this, but its better if I bring attention to the images that have been swept away ** 843Nameless Shinto priestIDFEtME3Z Well, that much should be fine. Its true that Im in the same party that said light warrior is in. So, its fun and all to act like you are part of the minority, but its still lonely when you cant see other players. 844Nameless mageIDR9TdKNH Thanks. I apologize, it feels like I asked for something I shouldnt have. 845Nameless martial artistID7m28Ke6 Though, to think there are no players in the desert just as we expected It goes without saying that its unpopular! I say as I turn my eyes away from my own class 846Nameless archerIDjGbs67Q What are you, a masochist!? LMAO. They havent increased at all either, huhmartial artists LOL. 847Nameless Shinto priestIDFEtME3Z I wont deny that the deserts environment is harsh. However, Ill state here that the food is delicious. The place these screenshots were taken was in the Deserts Owl Pavillion in the town of Maija. Image] Tamiya. Image] Kofta. Image] Kushari. Image] Omali. 848Nameless heavy warriorIDxAPrxUD Im getting hungrynow that you mention it, I still havent had dinner. 849Nameless mageIDRxkFazJ They look tasty, I want to go there only to eat the food. However, I dont want to go into the desert LMAO. 850Nameless light warriorIDJT6rTjp Heres some sudden suppoooooooort!! Image] A certain famous peddler with the Deserts Owl Pavillions owner. Image] As a bonus, one of the peddler alone. 851Nameless archerIDxdyVXHf !!?? 852Nameless martial artistID7m28Ke6 Whatdid you just say!? Isnt this Claris-san!!! Im going, Im definitely going to the desert!! 853Nameless mageIDi8zUXuM Ehwhats going on? 854Nameless heavy warriorIDK2Qdzjd Thats so dirty LOL. Trying to use an NPC to lure him LMAO. 855Nameless light warriorID8dCL3U9 Hey, your friend is getting excited LOL. What are you going to do? @847 856Nameless light warriorIDJT6rTjp I mean, it says in the official site that you can take a screenshot of an NPC whenever you want! It seems like it doesnt even lower likability! ** What is that guy even doing (Wataru) I let that out as I held my head. No matter how I look at it, this is Shuuheis work, but when did he take it The contents of the screenshots were one of Claris-san with Yaido-san, and the other one was of Claris-san alone. I took a grip and ran back to the images of the royal capital. As a beginner at posting here, I dont think Ill be able to keep up with this flow after all ** 860Nameless Shinto priestIDFEtME3Z @855 EhI dont know how I should reply so Ill just leave some last screenshots of the royal palace. Image] The whole palace. Image] Hallway. Image] VIP room. @850 Do things in moderation. 861Nameless archerIDVSnbeGL That palace is so gorgeous. So they let you inside? Thats so nice. 862Nameless mageIDaWphAJu What about the dancers!? There were no dancers!? 863Nameless knightIDZ4wK8je Or rather, didnt you guys arrange it so the thread will flow like this? LOL. Hes seriously bewildered! LMAO. 864Nameless Shinto priestIDHdP6ySY Nah, the flow is suspicious, hes probably doing it all on his own. 865Nameless heavy warriorIDCQFDZ7e It would be exhausting to do it all on his own though LOL. Its way harder to change your ID now than in the old days, you dont see that kind of thing at all anymore these days. 866Nameless heavy warriorIDhWYUs86 Even if you change where you post from your ID wont change after all. They make you link your information after all. @864 arent you too ignorant? 867Nameless light warriorIDJT6rTjp I dont care what you think of it!! Im going to show these screenshots!! Image] Image] Image] 868Nameless heavy warriorIDAmVhtA6 Whos this!? This erotic tanned beauty!!?? 869Nameless knightID3DFu4fL Lewdthose boo*Omitted*. 870Nameless Shinto priestID9pGpxaz Black haired and tanned skin!! S-Such a beauty 871Nameless light warriorIDJT6rTjp This is the queen of the desert, Patra-sama! If you want to see her, come to the royal capital!! Come on!! 872Nameless mageIDGfGu6HP Just when I thought the thread was gaining momentum, I see everyone getting fired up LOL. Though I do get why LMAO. 873Nameless Shinto priestIDW3KWjWQ @867 Can I post this image in the NPC thread? 874Nameless light warriorIDJT6rTjp Sure! 875Nameless archerIDVRSaWfu This is bad, Im getting this urge to really go there just to see the queen. 876Nameless Shinto priestID3nFnnCG Erotic sights are the truth of this world. This bulge is proof of it. 877Nameless heavy warriorIDdP6jwRc It cant be helped since its an instinct . ** I sighed and closed the BBS, and gently shut the PC down. Eventually the fans stopped moving and the room turned silent. There are many things I want to tell Shuuhei, but Im feeling extremely exhausted. Itd be a pain, it should be fine if I talked to him about it the next time we meet in person *End of the chapter* Chapter 59 - Guild「Migratory Bird」and new event I continued walking through a solid floor made of stone while the sound of my steps echoed. Feeling the pointlessly thick pillars with my hand made me think of the event that occurred yesterday. Close to the royal palace, there was a residence of nobles that ceased to be a long time ago. We set our guild home there. To begin with, guild homes come in two types, one of them is the one that Tobi mentioned that it had another dimension within it, that one is called Apartment type. The other one is the one we bought, a Single house type where we paid a large sum of money and it had come with some initial facilities already prepared. A single house type is as big as it looks, but it comes with the facilities already at level MAXright. When the party members saw this property they reacted like this. Its huge and it looks nice! I like this place! (Yumir) If compared to an apartment type it is just as it looks, I can remodel it to a ninja housemufufu. (Tobi) Eh, I dont mind that it is a single house typebut using it for meetings and meeting people from other guilds is (Selene) The flamboyant Yumir and Tobi who wanted to mess around with it because it was so big, then I had to consider Selene-sans opinion due to her fear of strangers In the end, we decided to just use the large sum of money we got as a reward for the quest to buy this mansion. Right now, theres no signs of other players having come to the royal capital Waaha, but someone will eventually buy the apartment types and we want to avoid them. Riizu also didnt oppose this decision. For a guild name, since we received funds to complete the home from the former Deserts Owl Yaido-san, we decided to call it Migratory Bird as a name related to birds. That made it official and we formally started the guild right there. Lots of things also happened when we were deciding on a guild master but Its Hind, right? (Yumir) One vote for Hind-dono. (Tobi) Ill leave it to Hind-san. (Riizu) I think it should be Hind-kun. (Selene) So, I guess they followed the flow like when I give commands during fights and it ended like that. However, I dont want to be the guild master and I dont think Im suited for it. Is what you said, but if Im guild master itll be boring you know? Ill take stable decisions and wont be adventurous at allitll be something like that. So I think its better if its someone like Tobi or Yumir who are assertive people. (Hind) A ninja as the leader of a public organization, huh? Other people would laugh at me. In that case, Ill ask that Yumir takes the position. (Tobi) So he says, can I leave it to you, Yumir? (Hind) Fuun, me as a guild master, huh? It has a good ring to it. Why not, Ill do it! (Yumir) With that being said, the unlikely Yumir became the guild master. We spent the time yesterday like that, establishing the guild and selecting the home, and we stayed until late at night. That being the case, tonight, I think well just check the contents of the update and do some light playing. Right after I logged in under those circumstances, I heard the light sound of something hitting iron resounding from within the home. After proceeding through the long hallway, I walked into the guild homes workshop. Since it was just when Selene-san had stopped moving her arm, I drew closer to her and talked to her. Is that a shortsword? For Selene-san, thats quite the popular and normal choice of weapon. How is it? The ease of use of the new charcoal blast furnace. (Hind) Ah, Hind-kun. Its really comfortable! Especially these water wheel bellows, its the best.(Selene) Glad to hear that. Though that means that theres no need for me to run out of breath while stepping on the bellows anymore, huh? (Hind) Fufu. You werent particularly good at it since that time in the village, right? (Selene) The deciding factor for buying this nobles mansion was because the plot was luxurious and a river flowed here with abundant water. This riverthough maybe I should call it an irrigation canal. Its water is used for daily life and it goes downtown passing through the residential area, but this place is located in the upper stream. The water wheel was made thanks to there being a manufacturer in town, we asked him to make it so that it went to the bellowswell, guess I dont need to go into the little details here. Anyway, we successfully installed a water wheel. Apart from the one for blacksmithing, we also installed another one for milling. The water wheels themselves plus the cost of installing them was quite high butlets leave that aside for now. How is it? The current demand for weapons. (Hind) It seems like during this week, the offensive power of turtle weapons became lacking, the high leveled players are starting to replace them. Its just that for the ones in the middle, turtle type seem to be enough (Selene) So, its not looking too good. Hmmtheyll announce the details of the next event soon, so theres the possibility of things changing when that time comes. Ah, Ill help you. (Hind) Thank you. The next event was a PvP one right? (Selene) That seems to be the case, but there are still no details out about it yet. Though, theyll probably announce it within the game like that time. (Hind) Since she didnt seem like she was going to keep using the furnace, I helped her clean up while we talked. I dont believe Maou-chan will appear twice in a row butin that case, who will announce the opening of the PvP tournament? To begin with, even if we know its a PvP event, we still dont know if itll be about individual matches or group matches. The players of TB are scattered throughout the world of TB, how do they plan to gather them all in a single place? Theres a myriad of questions. Hey, Hind! Hind, where are you!? Secchan!!! (Yumir) Eh, this voiceYumir-san? (Selene) You are right. Even though she would know if she just looked at the map (Hind) When I opened the door to the workshop and showed my head through the door, Yumir braked in a panic since she was running too fast and was going to overshoot. Why is she in such a hurry- Its here, the details of the event! Its on the towns bulletin board! (Yumir) Bulletin board? (Hind) Anyway, come with me! Secchan too! (Yumir) Y-Yeahunderstood. (Hind) We tidied up in a hurry and headed to town from the guild home. Yumir took us to the center of the market, there was a crowd of NPCs there. While Selene-san was grasping the hem of my clothes, we pushed our way through it and we saw the figure of a guard we knew standing guard beside the bulletin board. Hmm? Isnt that the eyepatch guard that was guarding the border? Why is an imperial soldier here? (Hind) Youll know when you see the contents of the bulletin board. You should read it first. Well talk after you do. (Yumir) Uuu, theres so many people (Selene) The eyepatch soldier glanced at us, but he stood there in silence. It was as if he was saying that he was currently workingeven if we talked to him now he would probably ignore us. Lets seewhats written in the bulletin board? Notice. -A tournament that accepts both visitors and current citizens will be held in the Grado Empires capital Ordol. The objective is to aim for the peak of military arts. -However, the Emperor Grado?Ardi?Sajis doesnt wish for ordinary fights that show individual strength. Therefore, itll be required for people to participate in pairs. -During the duration of the event, imperial mages will be deployed to each town. -This tournament will involve the whole continent, but we wont inquire about your origin, the country you belong to or social status. -Including the 1.000.000G prize money, well award you the fine horse Grado Turk. -During the tournament, well oversee gambling thats not recognized by the imperial household. The bulletin boardnope, this is more like an official bulletin board. Summarizing, the Empire is holding a duo martial arts tournament. A duoI thought they would do a single match tournament first since its still early. This is quite the curveball. What was more surprising was the fact that NPCs will participate in the tournament. Will there be a joker like strong NPC in it? Im kinda looking forward to that bit. At the end of the official bulletin board there wasnt only the Empires, what looked like the signatures of the representatives of each nation was there. Which means that the other countries approved of this tournamentthis, could this tournament be a proxy war between the countries? Chapter 60 - Order from the queen「 You hear me? You definitely have to win. (Patra) (Hind) The first thing she said after opening her mouth was this I mean, shes beautiful, you know? I get why the people from the BBS were crazy about her. From her refined and sensual body came an aura of seductiveness. She also wore a thin dress, it was quite lascivious. The name of this queen was Patra?Adenium?Sala. I was listening to her talk while kneeling slightly away from the throne. Hind. As the representative of the Sala country, you have to attain victory without fail. In addition to the championship prize from Grado, Ill provide you with a reward myself. (Patra) I believe I havent said yet if I was going to participate or not though? (Hind) However, her personality was that of an arrogant and self-important woman. It wasnt just at the level of being proud, I even entertained the thought that she considered herself to be the most important person in the world. Her traits were the very picture of a queen, if we couple that with her outward appearance, I guess she would be irresistible for people that like that sort of thing. After looking at the official bulletin board, we tried to return to our guild home but I was the only one that was forcefully dragged by a soldier from the royal palace. To think I would be subject to an enforced event inside an online game. Being fanned by the court ladies, she informed me of this while sprawling on her luxurious couch. Shes so refinedeven though Im here dripping with sweat from the heat. Is that the end of your business with me? In that case, Ill take my le- (Hind) Wait. I still havent heard your answer, havent I? (Patra) Theres no one in this world that could guarantee you victory. Please, dont ask for the impossible. (Hind) Even then, isnt declaring you will win the way you men show your dependability? So pathetic (Patra) If you are going to say that, wouldnt it be better for you to not rely on visitors and train your own soldiers? (Hind) You should be aware that that would be impossible, right? (Patra) Hah (Hind) It seems like a faction that wanted to push for the reduction of the army was really getting in her way However, she seemed to want to let them be until she has full power over them. Thats related to the careless way of handling the Basilisk. Thus, she took responsibility for the failed subjugation and exiled the faction from the royal capital. That created inconvenience for the people and merchantsbut this queen, it seems like she didnt even think she had done anything bad. Thanks to me knowing of that part, personally, I cant bring myself to like this woman. The reorganization of the Desert Owls has just begun. We can only rely on the only visitors that are in this royal capital, which means all of you from Migratory Bird. (Patra) I wonder why you are telling me all thissince the guild master is Yumir, you should- (Hind) Im quite interested in you after all. To the point where I would like to make you into a caged bird instead of a migratory one (Patra) She slowly stood up and the queen caressed my chin with seductive movements. I felt my spine shiveringin a good and bad way. I dont know what perfume she is using, but as she approached me, a sweet and alluring fragrance was coming from her. It was tiring to not lose my mind. Well, if thats the case, the masked man from my party is handsome, so you could- (Hind) Im no longer interested in the beauty of someones outer appearance. Ive grown tired of looking at beautiful things. (Patra) When she said that, the queen pointed with her chin towards the court ladies that were waiting for her in a tiresome manner. After that, she pointed at all the work of art that decorated the room. Finally, she pointed at a big mirrorwait, she then made a face that implied she was the most beautiful in the world! I cant take anymore of this woman Theres probably a reason only I have such high likability with the queen. Summarizing it simply, the source should be the flow of the conversations from Claris-sanYaido-sanqueen. It first started with Claris-san and how she talked about me to Yaido-san. This was the first step, after the quest, Yaido-san told the queen about me Given that situation, it created a chain reaction because both of them had a high level of confidence in me and there is the possibility that it raised the likability to a certain extent without me having to do anything. I dont mind Yaido-san, but Im honestly not very happy about my likability with the queen. Additionally, per Claris-sans suggestion, we had a specially made full length mirror presentedwell I should say we gave it to the royal palace as a present and maybe that had some influence. The mirror the queen just pointed at seems to be it. If she has the mirror here, it probably means that she took quite a liking to it. Well, for the time being, Ill think about who should participate from our guild. That is probably the best course of action, so please excuse me. (Hind) Thats quite the cold reply. Oh well. Ill be going to watch the matches, so dont embarrass me. (Patra) Eh- (Hind) Shes coming? Oh, she is, I see However, this is another topic that the BBS will get fired up about. Im curious if the other rulers will come. If it would be possible, Id like to see them. At the same time, maybe the players that were content with coming to the desert will decrease after seeing her? I had that kind of worries. While I was absorbed in those thoughts, she returned to her couch and let out a big yawn as if she was telling me that the conversation was over. That being the case, I bowed and took my leave from that place right away. The moment I exited the royal palace, Yumir and Selene-san, who had been stopped by the entrance guards, rushed up to me worried. Even though I wouldnt be this tired if they had been with meshe definitely did it on purpose, that queen. Are you OK, Hind!? Did they do anything to you!? (Yumir) No, not really. Im fine, nothing happened. (Hind) You are making quite the unpleasant face though (Yumir) Im not good with her type. Its like she slowly throws her opponent out of their own pace (Hind) The moment I took a glance at her, I thought that she was like a snake. Exactly like a Basilisk. (Yumir) When Yumir said that, I was about to unconsciously start venting. Its true that it fits her perfectlyespecially the way she talks and her gaze that coils around you. Its just that, the royal guards are still close by. They could tell her that we were laughing at her. I held back my desire to laugh and started proposing we head back to the home. Having returned home, we relaxed in the breakfast nook, where we could talk. Both of them were at the table and I was preparing a light meal to recover our hunger gauges while telling them in detail about what the queen had told me. With that being said, it wasnt like it was anything bad. She just told me that she would give me a reward if we won as the representatives of the desert. Though she did pressure me. (Hind) I wonder why, when it comes from her mouth, I get these lewd vibes from it? (Yumir) Ahahashes quite sexy after all, the queen (Selene) As one would expect, it cant be something like thatthis is an all ages game after all (Hind) Eh, you didnt know, Hind-kun? The NPCs will change to a certain extent depending on the age and sex of the player, you know? (Selene) Really!? (Hind) I had no idea. Now that she mentioned it, a while ago the queen looked at me and crushed my dependability as a man. Well, even then, her reward will probably be something ordinary. While we talked, my hands didnt stop making the food. I peeled the skin off the broad beans and garlic and kneaded them with eggs into a paste. Additionally I used breadcrumbs, wheat flour, cumin and saltand shaped it into an oval. I sprinkled it with sesame seeds and dropped it onto the oil heated at low temperature. If its from the opposite sex, theres the chance thatthe likability could turn into love right? (Selene) In that queens case, I could feel a warped desire of owning me though? I couldnt feel such a bittersweet emotion at all. (Hind) Muhin that case, Claris (Yumir) Whats wrong, Yumir? Its quite rare to see you making such serious face. (Hind) Its nothing! (Yumir) It hurts! Why are you hitting me!? (Hind) I waited until it rose up. Once both sides were golden brown, I took the completed product and placed it on a plate. Yup, it has a good fragrance. Alright, the Taameyyas are done. I didnt have enough spices, but I think the shape came out well. (Hind) Ooh! Fried food is the best! Thanks for the food! (Yumir) Thanks for the food. (Selene) We took a bit while they were still hot. While it was lightly seasoned, the spices made them delicious. The outside came out crispythese broad beans are fluffy like potatoes. Yup, these are tasty Hind-kun! You are also skilled at cooking. So skillful. (Selene) Thanks for the compliment. Im glad that you find them tasty. (Hind) Even then, the flavor is inferior to Yaido-sans Taameyyas Next time I see him, Ill ask him for the trick as long as it doesnt become a hindrance to his business. It feels good eating something from your hand while walking around like this. Like the croquettes youd buy on your way back from school. They are not that hard to make, so I might make them in real life too. Mogogoga? Mogogo? (Yumir) Finish eating before you talk. You fool. (Hind) Having stuffed her mouth with a Taameyya, Yumir tried to say something. However, no matter how long Ive known her, I have no idea what she tried to say. Gulp. Now that I think about it, what are we going to do about the next event? Whos going to pair up with who? (Yumir) Ah, right. Given the number of people in our guild we can make 2 pairs (Hind) When I looked at Selene-san, she put the Taameyya she was holding on both hands like a squirrel down and waved her hand sideways in front of her face. I guess I should have expected it, shes bad at dealing with people. To begin with, she would stand out a lot if she advanced to the next round. Lets leave it with Selene-san not participating. What about Riizu? (Hind) Wont she participate if you asked her? However, she would say that she wont pair up with anyone other than you. (Yumir) That would be no good. In terms of balance, I dont think we would win with two rearguards. Attacking quickly with two vanguards would be better. (Hind) Fumu. In that case I- (Yumir) Wait just a moment! De-gozaru! (Tobi) ? The voice that resounded throughout the room was none other than Tobis. However, we could hear the voice but we couldnt see him. The three of us looked around the room andsuddenly, a partition of the wall from the room rose up with a sound. Like that, the wall was pushed out and rotated. When it did, Tobi appeared while clinging to the other side of the wall. Heyhey! I have listened to your talk! (Tobi) I have listened to your talk my foot! You said you would consult with everyone when you made mechanisms! What would you do if the strength of the building decreased!? (Hind) I couldnt hold back my curiosity! Im reflecting right now. Thats why, forgive me! (Tobi) This guy!! (Hind) Since I couldnt see any sign of remorse from his words, I looked at the last Taameyya that Tobi was trying to reach and- Eh!? Wheres my portion!? Hey! (Tobi) While moving my hand quickly, I ignored his voice and tossed it into my own mouth. Chapter 61 - The duo is formed Aahmy, tamatamueh? (Tobi) Its called Taameyya, Tobi-kun. (Selene) -Taameyya!! (Tobi) He doesnt even remember the name of the food. Though it cant be helped since hes not familiar with it. There was nothing to worry about, there was another portion for Riizu and him to eat so there were no issues. So, what is it? Why did you interrupt our conversation? (Hind) O-Oh, thats right! It was about the PvP tournament! I want to pair up with Hind-dono! (Tobi) That would be troubling! Hind has already decided to pair up with me! (Yumir) That being said, I guess this means they are both motivated to participate in it. If Riizu participated, we could form two pairs of vanguards with rearguards. Yumir made a saddened face because my words seemed to deny what she said, but I saw her lips loosening for a second there. Thats a sign that shes telling a lieor maybe I should call it a habit. You can tell from the expressions she has. Its not like I dont want to, but we still hadnt decided if we would pair up, right? You cant go around lying. (Hind) Tsk! Even though I thought I would be able to deceive him. (Yumir) Such a shame! (Tobi) While we were having a conversation like that, Riizu peeked through the door after knocking. With this everyone had gathered, so we started discussing seriously what we would do about the next event. While giving them both their portions of the Taameyya, I gave a simple explanation of the contents of the event to Riizu. Then it was checking to see if she had any intention of participating in the tournament If Im with Hind-san Ill participate, other than that I dont want to. It would be a pain. (Riizu) Muh, whats with that reaction? (Riizu) Its nothing. So, what are we going to do, Hind? (Yumir) It wouldnt be bad if I was an attack type Shinto priest that could go as a vanguard. I could concentrate on healing myself and defending at the front and leave Riizu to attack from behind. However, we are both pure rearguards and if I paired with Riizu it would be like us going there to lose. Once someone with high attack manages to get close to us, it would be checkmate. In that case, Selene-san and Riizu are to do whatever they want during the event- (Hind) Ah, same for me. Tell me if you need any weapons or defensive gear thats done through blacksmithing. Ill make them for you. (Selene) Guess Ill have you support us. So, Yumir and Tobi. Dont you have any intention to pair up together? (Hind) With Tobi pressuring the enemies, I thought they would be able to win with Yumir focusing as an attacker and deciding the match in a short period of time. However, they both pointed at each other and said this at the same time. Pairing up with him (Yumir-dono)? I cant see us winning at all (Yumir and Tobi) Yup. Why is that the case? (Hind) Ah, I get the feelingI know why. Yumir-san and Tobi-kun feel like they will crash into each other during battles sometimes, right? (Selene) Its probably true if Selene-san said it. If they properly set up a strategy and decided on their targets, I believe it wouldnt be that bad though. I dont know the reason for it, so I asked them both for a detailed explanation. How should I explain this, its like the tempo of our movements dont match. As if one of us were dancing tap dance and next to me there was someone dancing traditional Japanese dance (Yumir) If I had to explain it, it would be like having heavy metal on a Kabuki stage. (Tobi) They are both difficult to understand comparisonseven then, why havent you failed to coordinate during battle yet? Even though it looked like you would crash into each other, you were able to do something about it right? (Hind) Thats probably because we receive commands from Hind. (Yumir) We fix our rhythm after all. Once we hear that voice. (Tobi) Eh, whats with that? That sounds scary. (Hind) The effect is because of their individual differences. Im pretty sure it just happens to these two. I dont really get it, but they declared that it would be a mess if they paired up together. In that case, we have to decide who Ill pair up with from both of them. Personally, Im not the type that would want to avoid PvP, so I dont have any problems with joining. For the time being, since the meal is done, go ahead and finish eating. You too, Riizu. (Hind) Ooh, they are freshly fried! They smell so good! Thanks for the food! (Tobi) Thank you very much. Thanks for the food. (Riizu) While you do that, Ill make a simple lottery so pull from it later, Yumir and Tobi. That should settle things. (Hind) After taking a glance at both of them picking up the Taameyyas, I took the suitable materials from my inventory. I placed my hand that was grasping at two strings on the table in front of them. The lottery was about winning by pulling the one painted in red, a simple one. Yumir extended her handthen, she retracted it again. She then crossed her arms and took a deep breath. While she was doing that, Tobi steeled himself and pulled a cordpulled itbut, he ended up retracting his hand- Pull them already! (Hind) After they heard me say that, they finally held both strings in their hands. As a result, Yumir pulled the one that was painted red and stood up from her chair. Alriiiiiiight!! Yes!! (Yumir) Nuaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! Why!? (Tobi) Riizu heaved a sigh when she saw them causing such an uproar due to the result. It was decided that I would participate with Yumir. Selene-san helped Tobi, who had his hands on the floor in an act of vexation, stand up while having a wry smile on her face. However, wouldnt it be fine if Tobi just paired up with a friend? There should be some right? Players that you partied up with before partying up with us. (Hind) Ahthere are a lot of players I have exchanged friend requests with, they are the so called hobby friends. Though there are also friends that Ive known from other games for a long time that have migrated to this game. (Tobi) I see. To sum it up, they are the speedrun type of players? Whats bad about them? That type of players would be pretty strong. (Hind) Before even getting into if they are strong or not, those are the type of people that take action really fast. I wonder if theres any that still dont have a partner (Tobi) Take action really fast you sayisnt it still the first day of the event? I mean, the contents have been revealed about an hour ago (Riizu) When Riizu asked that, Tobi sneered at her. Seeing his annoying expression, veins popped in Riizus face. After that, she glared at him sharply and Tobi got frightened, so he concealed himself behind me as if I was a shield. I believe its better if he apologizes as soon as possible thoughRiizu will hold a grudge after all. However, if its working adults, shouldnt there be people that havent logged in yet? Look, like someone thats busy with work. (Hind) You are naive, Hind-dono. Theyll take a day off when an update comes and in weeks where there are no events theyll work their asses offwithin the adults I know in the game, there are only that kind! If referring to the students that have plenty of free time, I dont even have to say anything! (Tobi) I dont think thats something you should say while looking that proud though. (Riizu) They live by pouring all their effort into their hobbies right? For sure. (Selene) I guess we should call themidiots that love games. It seems like they are people I could never imagine the world they live in. They dont feel that much different from Tobi, just as he said they are probably people like him. They are horrible hobbyists. (Yumir) I dont want to hear that from Yumir-dono! Look in the mirror! (Tobi) What did you just say!? (Yumir) Ah, anyway, try contacting them. You want to participate in it right? In the tournament. (Hind) Of course I want to! Now that it has gotten to this point, Ill definitely participate and defeat Hind-dono and Yumir-dono! De-gozaruyo! (Tobi) I seefeel free to try. (Yumir) Like always, they both have quite the baseless confidence. I dont have any self-confidence though To begin with, even if Tobi managed to join, we wouldnt know if we would survive long enough to face each other. In that case, lets finish here and switch to free action for the night. Regarding the eventis it OK if we start tomorrow, Yumir? (Hind) Why are you asking me? (Yumir) I mean, you are the guild master. This is just my opinion as a guild member. Ultimately, You have to decide on the timing where we gather and break up. (Hind) Oh, Ah, I see. For the night, its fine if you are all done with the things you want to do as a guild! Yup! (Yumir) Like this, we dont know who is the leader at all. (Riizu) Y-Yeahw-well, you know, I like it when the mood is laidback. Being all stiff inside the game would just tire us out. Isnt it just fine? (Selene) Ill get to sending those emails right away! Someone, please pair up with me!! (Tobi) Chapter 62 - Start of the preliminaries The next day after the event started. I was standing in front of the mage that the empire had deployed to the desert town along with Yumir. It was a standard mage with the hood of his coat covering his face. Please take us to the preliminary grounds. (Hind) Both of you are forming a party, right? Even his voice was quite robotic. It was quite eerie, but its probably what they were going for and its not like hell attack us. Im paired with this guy. (Yumir) Very well, Ill start the transfer. Stand still right there. After finishing the verification, he started chanting a suspicious spell with an inaudible voice. When he did, a black mass appeared at the mages feet and it swallowed us. Our surroundings completely changed. Sound vanished, our sense of balance crumbled and our field of vision started spinning around It wasnt the scenery of the desert we were in a while ago, we were standing on top of a small arena. This was an arena in the empire. The main tournament will be held at another one, no one other than the other participants in the preliminaries could see us right now. Its possible to record the matches, but the latest ten are always available for viewing without having done so. You can report cheaters thatoh, next to me (who was thinking stuff like that), Yumir was staggering unsteadily. Ive got a bit of motion sickness. (Yumir) The scenery did distort itself after all. Shouldnt it be fine if you just closed your eyes the next time? (Hind) Ill do just that. That feeling of floating like if you were in an elevator wont go away though, but that cant be helped (Yumir) Like this, theyll send the participants from each town to the empire in an instantonce this ends, theyll send you back after the battle ends. In simple terms, its a spell that warps the target. The agreement to use this spell was strictly supervised, it was a Spell that had been able to be used for the first time after every country representative agreed to it. Therefore, they made it an exception to use it for this tournamentor so the setting goes. If they were able to use it freely, everyone would be able to launch a surprise attack on another country after all By the way, there was an official announcement saying that players wont be able to use this spell. Apart from special occasions like this one, they want us to travel via vehicles. It seems like our opponents are here, Hind. (Yumir) Oh? (Hind) Our opponents appeared from within the light with nervous expressions. Their jobs were heavy warrior and magewell, they paired up in an orthodox way with a vanguard and rearguard, huh? They were both guys, given their looks they appeared about the same age. We didnt really exchange introductions and when a READY appeared within our line of sight in big letters, we prepared our weapons. No items can be used in a duel and the damage is scaled down compared to when you fight monsters, overall its toned down. However, it doesnt change the fact that youll die instantly if you are hit with a powerful skill It was about a minute after the duel had started, Yumir beautifully fell down after taking the Stone Blast that the mage had aimed at her feet. Gya!! Whats this!? (Yumir) An opening! Without a moment of delay, the heavy warrior used Berserker Edge followed by Assault Slash and Yumir took it upfront leaving her with 0 HP. Hebunh!? (Yumir) We did it! All thats left is the Shinto priest- Death. It was what I thought it would happen at this point. Our opponents have really nice synergy. That she was unable to avoid it cant be helped. Immediately after that happened, I completed the cast of Revive that I had started casting a bit before Yumir got hit by the spell of the mage. The heavy warrior got careless and looked towards me and behind him, Yumir, who had become like a crushed frog, slowly started to stand up. B-Behind you! Behind! (mage) Eh? (heavy warrior) Fuhahaha! Gotcha! (Yumir) There are games where your MP will become 0 once you die, but in TB youll keep your MP. Even Yumir, who had started the duel with 0 MP, now had a full bar from getting attacked that many times. While laughing like a villain, Yumir released the powerful thrust Burst Edge. Together with the violent sparks created by the aura, the stream of magical power penetrated the heavy warrior. Burst Edge is a skill that deals hybrid damage, but having reduced his physical defense to 0, the heavy warrior was unable to take both types of damage. As a result, Yumir blew his whole HP bar in a single blow. Then, we surrounded the mage that was dumbfounded at the sudden turn of events. No good, since everything had gone according to my plan, I couldnt contain a laugh. Fuhahaha! Well then, the match is decided. What will you do? Do you choose to surrender or do you choose death? Go ahead and choose! (Yumir) As a rearguard like you, I wouldnt recommend fighting without a vanguard. Theres no reason to get painful memories on purpose, right? Right? (Hind) Ah, uhI-Ill surrenderthe way you laugh is so scary Within our field of view a Winner!! danced in the air and the room started warping. They probably did this to take into consideration players that wanted to fight many times in a row, the way the fights started and ended was really quick. Once you win youll get expelled from the arena right away. I thought the casting time for revive was long? Thats weirdhow did he know that she would die with that timing? (mage) After the mage murmured that, the feeling of standing on the ground vanished. It wasnt to the point where it was like Yumir, who made a very displeased face, but its true that its a bit unpleasant. It does have its artistic value, but since it seems to be going to be harmful, lets send a message to the developers so that they improve it. When we noticed, we were standing in front of the imperial mage in Royal Capital Waaha again. The battle ended and we took a breath after exchanging glances. It might have been because of nervousness, even though it was a short fight, it was quite tiring. Hah, we were able to win. Though I dont know how strong they really were. (Hind) Fuh, we are a duo made of you and me. Its a given that we would win! (Yumir) Ooh, you sure are confident as always. But hear me out, dont go crying if we somehow end up losing, OK? If we keep fighting, we are bound to lose at some point after all. (Hind) I wont cry! Dont treat me like a kid! (Yumir) This was our first PvP match. When it comes to the PvP rating, the initial value is 1500. Once you get this ranking to the top 256, you will be able to appear in the main tournament. Unlike usual rankings, this one is set as tournament rankings, itll reset every event. During the event, the preliminary duels like the one a while ago dont have any effect on normal duel rankings. It goes without saying butthis tournaments rankings are not personal but its a shared numerical value for the duo. The event is also long, the main tournament will start next Saturday. The finals will follow, theyll be held on Sunday. The preliminaries will last until Friday at 23:59 and then the participants will be decided. I dont get it! (Yumir) So, I summarized it like this for Yumir. Until it ends on Friday, well fight preliminaries over and over, its fine as long as we keep winning. (Hind) I explained roughly like that. If we used logic, given the rules it amounted to only that. Therefore, we had to raise our ranking. As additional information, apart from the event rankings there are event points, the amount of goods youll get will increase as you keep fighting. If you manage to win youll get a bigger amount of event points, but even if you lose, youll still get some points. Taking this into account, even if the rankings for the main event solidifies itself, the difficult situation of there not being people to fight with probably wont happen? Its made so that even people that are not that good at PvP can have some fun, personally its a method that I like. This about sums up the event. While those thoughts were going around my head, Yumir was stretching close to me to relax her body. The outstanding body that wouldnt lose to the queens in style was exposed defencessly. So immodestI guess the saving grace is that she was wearing armour and it made it so that less places were emphasized. Well then, what are we going to do, Hind? Are we going to keep fighting? (Yumir) Yeah. In order to raise our rankings, its not important that you lose, but your win percentage at the endif we managed to win consecutively in the final phase, it should be enough to catch up. Lets also continue fighting to eliminate our weaknesses. (Hind) Umu. There should be a lot of players logged in at this time, well find an opponent right away. (Yumir) It also doesnt seem to take long for a fight to end after all. Lets just keep going. (Hind) I want to get an early lead and focus on organizing our gear and skills next week. Getting some experience is important, so first off, its important to go in without thinking too hard about things. Alright, Im getting fired up! Mage, please one more time! (Yumir) Acknowledged. Ill begin the transfer. Today, after winning 10 times in a row, we started to lose At the end of the day the score was 20 fights (14 wins), our record ended in a 70% win rate. Chapter 63 - Reaction to the even I finished the housework earlier than expected. I didnt have my part-time job today, had finished preparing the ingredients for tomorrow and also taken a bath. I had also finished doing my homework and there wasnt any particular place within the house I hadnt finished cleaning either While thinking about what to do, I loitered around the room with no particular aim. Even if I wanted to play TB, there wouldnt be anyone logged in at this time. Even then, I dont have any motivation to do crafting right now either. Rise is also taking a bathusually, I dont think a girl would enter the bath after a guy though. Rise always gets into the bath after Im out. While I was thinking Well then, what should I do?, the PC on top of desk entered my line of sight. Shall we gather some information in the BBS? Im also a bit curious about what other players think about the new event after allyup. I booted up the PC right away and accessed the TBs BBS that I had bookmarked. ** Emperor]Thread number 3 to talk about the PvP eventPlease give me the horse!] This is a comprehensive thread about the current PvP event in TB. Gossip, complaints, discussion of the ratings and content that is related to the event is free to talk about. Ignore the trolls and be well mannered. Lets respect the rules and get along. The next thread will be made once we reach >>900 comments. 93Nameless MageID8YJGB6T This thread title reminded mewhat does the prize Fine horse even mean? Is it fast? Is it strong? 94Nameless ArcherIDaNEXybn Unlike camels and donkeys, it seems like horses have ranks. Fine horse > Swift horse >Average > Workhorsesomething like that? 95Nameless MageID8YJGB6T I see. Workhorse meant a horse that you cant ride right? Can you ride them here? 96Nameless ArcherIDaNEXybn You can in TB. Its just that their speed is not that much different to that of a donkey, its a completely different world when its an average horse. 97Nameless MageID8YJGB6T What about the swift horse? 98Nameless ArcherIDaNEXybn I dont think theres anyone that has one yet. 99Nameless MageID8YJGB6T Really!? So, if they sold the fine horse it would be an amazing event! 100Nameless Heavy warriorIDYhU4edP Why are you even assuming they would sell it? LOL 101Nameless Shinto priestIDJh4j67P Lets not put a price tag on it, since theres nothing to compare it to, if we put a price on it half-heartedly it would incur losses. Even then, if the price was too high, it wouldnt get sold anyway. 102Nameless KnightIDTNGhdN3 Theres also the fact that youd use it until the games service ends, its the highest grade right? 103Nameless ArcherIDaNEXybn It seems to have high endurance too, looks like fighting on top of the horse would be possible. ( bb)ۥ(I want it) 104Nameless Light warriorIDbRkAZc3 Archers look like the type that would be compatible with fighting on top of a horse. Light warriors on the other handyup 105Nameless Light warriorIDuCFHVp9 Your attacks wouldnt reach after all, I get that. (Already experienced it). 106Nameless Light warriorIDhH6z4dy I, Ill act like a Light warrior and buy lots of throwing knives this time 107Nameless Martial artistIDy6g9Pcy @104-106 Its so sad being a light warrior LOL. However, the same thing goes for martial artists. (b?b)(b?b)ʥ` (comrades) 108Nameless Heavy warriorIDQH6CNbh Well, a martial artist wont reach either unless it extended its limbs LOL. 109Nameless MageID8YJGB6T Ah, right. Since donkeys dont have high endurance and their maneuverability is not good, the idea of fighting on top of them wasnt there from the beginning LOL. 110Nameless KnightIDC9K3xCL In the case of camels, they do have high endurance but Im not sure. The people that went there to aim for the queen are all closet perverts LOL. They should also post a bit in the BBS. 111Nameless MageIDbzHn8cG I mean, its only Sala that we dont have much information from at this point after all 112Nameless Heavy WarriorIDrfDWfJY @110 I cant ignore being called a closet pervert, Im always full open! Camels are faster than donkeys, they also dont get frightened by monsters and their endurance is high, they are quite excellent! Hurrah for the queen!! 113Nameless KnightIDC9K3xCL Thanks for the information. However, taking off all your clothes is a no go OK? LOL 114Nameless Heavy warriorIDrfDWfJY Like I would do something like that! Id get burnt! Hurrah for the queen!! 115Nameless Heavy warriorIDEdVHLtQ No good, the way this guy ends his sentences is weird LOL. 116Nameless ArcherIDZsY4EN9 This guy is from the Queen Patra-sama thread, arent there too many fetish threads these days? LOL. 117Nameless MageIDEffXCnr I mean, you guys are talking about the prize butcan you guys even win? Even before that, can you even qualify for the main event? (??`) 118Nameless KnightIDnFfZxCE No way LMAO. 119Nameless Shinto priestIDdAx36nE I mean, the ones at the top have exceeded the 1800 rating mark already 120Nameless Shinto priestIDxDfBPrZ Would it be safe if you surpassed the 2000 mark by the end? 121Nameless Martial artistIDm7HDzZh With a rating type ranking it would be around that. With things like the number of fights and the population, there would also be matchmaking, but with this method even in other games being around the 2000 makes you be in the top group. Its just thatwith just the short period of 8 days, we have to think that it being lower is also a possibility. 122Nameless Light warriorIDeS9gtUa If the limit is 256 people, you might have a chance if you are around 1900. My current rating is 1300. 123Nameless MageIDgcMeDVa Isnt that lower than the initial value? LOL. 124Nameless Light warriorIDeS9gtUa @123 We are a double vanguard pair and we were winning at the beginning. However, people got used to dealing with quick attacks fastwe cant win anymore, its hard. 125Nameless Heavy warriorIDYsau8AG I mean, in a duel you start with 0 MP. Theres a limit to attacking without mixing in a skill here and there LOL. Its not as scary as seeing a murder on the news. 126Nameless KnightIDXixXSEb The standard seems to be having a vanguard act as a tank and have the mage or Shinto priest charge up their MP at the start. Apart from that, having a double archer duo also seems to be quite strong. 127Nameless Heavy warriorID4dQ9grN There are those, the rapid-fire type. I was filled with holes by themif the way they take turns firing is skillful, you cant get close at all. 128Nameless Light warriorIDbmxZpxk Being shut down like that would irritate you. 129Nameless Martial artistIDbmxZpxk Its fun when everyone are vanguards, since itll end up with everyone beating each other up! LOL. 130Nameless Heavy warriorIDYsau8AG Its sickening when you are heavy warrior facing a mage! Thats also the case with knights with skills with magical properties and magic *omitted* 131Nameless MageIDc82uwWr Heavy warriors are the type that are very strong when they catch you after all. You dont have any choice but to receive those magic attacks with your pointlessly high HP. 132Nameless Heavy warriorIDYsau8AG Dont look down on a heavy warriors low magical resistance! Its as low as 0 you know!? Even if you were to reach level 99 it would still be 0 you know!? 133Nameless ArcherIDDkPJWWa For a rearguard, the last person theyd want getting close to them would be a heavy warrior so it goes both ways. The heavy warriors that plunge in without flinching are the scariest LOL. The fact that their hit stop resistance is so high is unfair, even though you manage to hit them with long range attacks theres no hit stop at all. 134Nameless Light warriorIDi3pWbEi Its also troublesome to fight a heavy warrior as a light warrior. Oftentimes if you screw up, youll die in a single hit. 135Nameless mageIDc82uwWr Light warriors are like bean sprouts to heavy warriorsyour defense is like paper after all 136Nameless Shinto priestID9stVier The player skill shows when it comes down to light warriors after all. Your in real life specs seem to be important, things like reaction speed and agility. 137Nameless ArcherIDM2KXuHf A similar job that is unexpectedly quite strong is the martial artist. They can self-heal with Qigong and they are strong at in-fighting, they are pretty good for PvP. 138Nameless Light warriorIDQCTeHpk Something like running double martial artists. How about double vanguard Shinto priest making a duo that draws out fights by healing themselves? 139Nameless Shinto priestID9stVier Martial artists would be fine but the Shinto priest one It would inevitably lead to a time out LMAO. 140Nameless MageIDdKswZyc They dont have enough fire power. As a tank, they are at the same level as other pure vanguard jobs though, the vanguard Shinto priest. 141Nameless ArcherIDaNEXybn We should wait until the rankings stabilize to see what combinations are strong. By the way, what about everyones gear? I believe gear makes quite the difference. 142Nameless Heavy warriorIDddRahi6 It might be because players are scattered everywhere, theres nothing that is the best like it was at the previous event with the meteo types. The materials are all over the place since it depends on the area. 143Nameless Shinto priestID9stVier Im still using turtle type gear 144Nameless KnightIDddRahi6 Me too. 145Nameless Light warriorIDUyPZbaG Me too! 146Nameless ArcherIDRpPS2XG You guysLOL. I know they are convenient, but in terms of stats, arent they reaching their limit? How about you get better gear for the duels? 147Nameless MageIDXBK2Nky A weapon that inflicts status ailments would be nice. That way, it would encourage pairings like that previous one for drawn out fights, once they poison you, unless you have a Shinto priest in your party it would be checkmate. 148Nameless Light warriorIDpiL6YPJ Lets bully heavy warriors with elemental weapons! 149Nameless Heavy warriorIDYsau8AG Please no LOL. 150Nameless KnightIDMVbKjQu Elemental weapons, huh? That would be good against the heavy warriors that have low magical resistance, but on the contrary, your damage will decrease against mages since they have high magic resistance. 151Nameless Martial artistID6LEctc8 Everything depends on strategy right? Maybe theres nothing thats truly the strongest? ** I see. So if your rating is about 2000 it should be fine. Its the first time Ive heard that horses have grades. Other than that, I can see that theres a certain affinity even if you are both of the same jobs. There seems to be a lot of opinions regarding gear, but Ill listen to Selene-san and Yumirs opinion before reaching a decision. Personally, I would like to improve our strengths instead of trying to compensate for our weaknesses Whoops, no good. I was so engrossed in the BBS that its already past the time we arranged to meet. Everyone is waiting. I equipped the VR gear and lay down on top of the bed. *End of the chapter* Chapter 64 - Plan towards victory Excluding Tobi, the four of us were in the guild homes lounge watching the replays of yesterdays fights. You can watch the replays from your menu screen and its also possible to make a projection in mid-air. You can also adjust the size of the screen, first off, we watched several replays where we won and things went according to plan. There was red tea on the tableunfortunately, theres no black tea, we watched yesterdays matches while drinking the herbal tea. This tea is hibiscus tea that we bought in the market, we tried it out and it was quite sour. Yup, its sour. Its tea that youd rather blend with something else than drinking straight away. Yupthe place you set this Area Healing at was really good. It would have felt like you had infinite HP from your opponents point of view. Yumir-san also perfectly shut down the vanguard. (Selene) Coming back from taking that much damage without being afraid is scary after all. His face is full of fear and despairfufu. Ah, he surrendered. Tsk (Riizu) The face you are making right now is far more terrifying. Are you not aware of it? (Yumir) W-Well, these are the fights that turned out well. If possible Id like every match to go like this but (Hind) Everyone took a sip from the cup and made bitter faces. I took out some honey from my inventory and left it on top of the table, then the girls fought over it and poured some on their tea. Even though its apparently good as a beautifying productwait, I guess that has nothing to do here since its a game. Since its sour, it might also help you recover from fatigue. I wonder if it also recovers HP? Regarding the replays, while Yumir intercepts the opponents that aim for me, she boldly attacks them while I make the best use of my healing skills. Each time Shining is up, I use it on the rearguard or the other vanguard to obstruct them while I support and heal her. If we manage to make it go that way, it would usually lead to a victory. Shining has low power, but it also has a suitable low CD because of it. If there are two vanguards, the times where I have to run around the place trying to avoid them will increase, but Im able to do something about it as long as I focus on dodging. It is possible to cast spells while moving around, even if they kill off each other at the same time, as long as Yumir defeats one of them itd end up in our victory. However, double vanguards are the 2nd type of teams we are weak against. Whenever we win, we are forced to endure and be patient, usually, if Im caught wed lose. Next, is the replay of our important loss. While we watched the match, we talked about why we lost this time. This match too, the pattern of the way you lose is mostly the same. Yumir doesnt give up until the end and tries to persevere through. (Selene) Yes. I die before Yumir does, its only that. (Hind) Especially this one, when you face a rapid-fire type archer I get the feeling that it doesnt go well. (Riizu) I hate those! They just attack and are so sticky! If they are going to aim for someone, they should just aim for me! (Yumir) Hind-kun puts himself between the opponents vanguard or Yumir-san and him to cut his line of fire but (Selene) The main problem are these high-angle type skills. The skills that are represented by skills like Arrow Rain. (Riizu) I believe its just as they said. You cant really avoid themafter all, several hundreds of arrows rain down on you at the same time. Even if you only get hit by one, youll enter hit stop and be unable to move, then youll get hit by the next one and quickly take more damage. Like that heavy warrior from the BBS, instead of magic, Im wrapped up in sorrow whenever I face a heavy warrior paired up with an archer. These are the opponents we hate the most. The long ranged physical damage job archer is the one that Shinto priest has the worst affinity against. Shinto priest is in the middle when it comes to magic resistance, but with the exception of the vanguard type Shinto priest, the other 2 types are tied with mages for the worst physical resistance. So, whats your current rating, Hind-kun? (Selene) Its 1628. I cant really say it feels like we are in a good situation. (Hind) If you can keep up with your 70% win rate, I believe you might be able to reach 2000 rating by the end though. (Riizu) However, if we only looked at the 10 matches of the 2nd half, it would be a 40% win rateif we keep going like this, entering the rankings will be just a dream. If we kept going like this, our current rating would slowly stagnate. Maybe well be at around 1600 rating? (Hind) Nuuh (Yumir) We keep losing to players that pass 1700 rating, thats our current wall. Based on yesterdays matches, I reached the conclusion that its better to use this first half to strengthen ourselves. From there, we started talking about concrete ideas of how to improve. I can think of a few plans. Then again, its about the same as with the last event. First off- (Hind) Strengthening your weapons and defensive gear right? Leave it to me. (Selene) Thank you very much! (Hind) Thanks Secchan! (Yumir) Its just that I want your help with gathering materials before doing that. It would help me a lot if I had more peoplecould I ask you that favor? (Selene) Of course. We are the ones asking you for the gear after all, well go anywhere you want. (Hind) Yup, lets go! (Yumir) In order to contend for the duels from now on, there was an urgent need to strengthen our current weapons and defensive gear. Just as the post in the BBS had said, from 1650 rating onwards, the players have already moved on from turtle type gear. If Yumir fought with vanguards that are equal or stronger to her she could easily lose, you could say we are in an impossible situation with our current gear. Since Selene-san seems to have a proper plan to strengthen our gear, lets leave it to her. Right after, Riizu humbly raised her hand. What I can help with isprobably leveling up? Ill search for monsters that are efficient to farm around here. (Riizu) Thanks, Riizu. If we level up, well also get more skills. (Hind) There are still a lot of skills I want to pick up after all. Isnt it quite the good idea from someone like you!? (Yumir) Dont you think that from someone like you part was uncalled for? Right, Yumir-san? (Riizu) It hurts!! It was my bad! Ill apologize, so please stop stepping on my foot! (Yumir) It was quite common to see players at the current level 40 cap yesterday after all. Im quite thankful for Riizus proposal. After that, lets seeall thats left is preparing proper measures. The remaining measure is to organize our skills well. Thats related to the way we fight. (Hind) Thats where we shine right!? (Yumir) Yup. Even if we level up or prepare our gear, everything will be for naught if we dont work on that. We have to practise together. (Hind) Got it! Lets do it! (Yumir) Yumir-san always looks like shes having funthats so nice. (Selene) Just as Selene-san had said, Yumir was always merry. She had been in high spirits since it was close to TBs launch date. Though its an enigma what Selene-san is envious about. By the way, what is Tobi-kun doing? We havent seen him tonight (Selene) Seems like he hasnt got anyone to pair up with yet. Like he said, it hurt him to have a late start. (Hind) Isnt that just him being disliked? (Yumir and Riizu) For some reason, Selene-san shivered when she heard Yumir and Riizus abusive remark. Her eyes behind the glasses are dead Stop it! There are people whose heart will get hurt because of your words you know!? (Selene) S-Selene-san? (Hind) -Ah! I-Its nothing! Everythings fine! (Selene) She didnt look fine at all thoughbut well, its better to not ask further. You need to be in a party to participate in the preliminaries, of course, you cant form a party if both of you are far away from each other. That being the case, instead of searching for players that came to the desert, Tobi went to their places to look for them. That point is making it harder for him to pair up with someone and he grumbled about that at school. They were interested in the middle of the talks, but once they heard that he was in the desert they would reply with a Then its impossible. Travelling takes quite a lot of time in TB. Among the friends that Tobi has, practically no one has come to the desertas a result, so far he hasnt been able to get a favorable reply. At that moment, the door to the lounge opened vigorously. Everyone looked that way and- Everybody, good evening! De-gozaru! (Tobi) Speaking of the devil. Have you found someone to pair up with, Tobi? (Hind) Tobi came normally through the door today. Since he looked quite cheerful, I thought he had found a partner but Tobis following words were quite unexpected. This might be sudden. However, Ill be going on a journey for the duration of the event! (Tobi) Nuh? (Yumir) What are you saying? (Riizu) Eh? What do you mean? (Selene) Ah, I see. The other members werent aware of Tobi having a hard time finding someone to party up with. Lets fill them in in a simple manner. Basically, you are saying that your duo candidate will pair up with you if you get closer to where he isyou found someone like that right? Thats why, you want to leave the desert temporarily. Am I right? (Hind) Yes! Its just as you said. The truth is, moving away from the desert is a pain butif I take much longer finding someone, I wont be able to raise up my rating in time! (Tobi) With that conversation, finally everyone started to understand. Tobi on the other hand, gulped down the entire cup of Hibiscus tea in one go and made an incredible face as if he had eaten some umeboshi. I didnt even have time to stop him. I see, so that was the case. (Riizu) Guess theres no helping it then. (Selene) Once the event ends, you have to return immediately, you hear me? (Yumir) Understood, guild master! (Tobi) With that being said, Tobi will leave the party temporarily. He got on his camel and left town from the exit starting his journey. Seems like his destination is a secret. After sending him off, we started by improving our equipment first. *End of the chapter* Chapter 65 - Mining with a bomb blast Did you bring the pickaxe? (Selene) Ive got one in my inventory! (Yumir) Hind-kun, what about that thing? (Selene) Ive made it and brought it. Im completely prepared. (Hind) Well then, shall we head out? (Selene) Hearing Selene-sans command, Yumir and I got on top of our camels. Just as Riizu had announced, she had gone to investigate the amount of experience monsters give. Without taking risks, I asked her to aim for isolated targets. Though Im a bit worried about having her go alone Since shes much smarter than me, I doubt that shell misjudge the timing to make her retreat. We left the town of Royal Capital Waaha, and we headed north under the blazing sun of the Lukia desert. Be that as it may, Selene-san, you sure did well to obtain information about a mining spot. It was from an NPC right? Did you get close to someone from town? (Hind) Do you think I would be able to talk friendly with the people in town and naturally get information from them? (Selene) It wasnt that? Now that you said it, I cant imagine Secchan going around doing that. (Yumir) Ah, could it be that? That thing thats been getting popular in the BBS, that there will be an information shop for sure in every large city. (Hind) Just as I thought, Hind-kun knew about it. You need money for it, but the information is accurate. (Selene) A while ago, she did say that she felt nervous speaking with people like vendors casually after all. If the players that come here increases, the sharing of information will make progress, there might not be a need for the existence of information shops someday. Now that theres few players in the desert, they are a valuable and convenient existence. Even in other regions, the higher ups that run walkthrough sites seem to be using these information shops. Like this time, getting information about where you can obtain materials is particularly useful. By the way, how much was the information about the mining place? (Hind) Hmm? Eh, I think it was 100.000G? (Selene) -Isnt that really expensive!? I dont know what the market price is for information, but isnt that the price of one camel!? (Yumir) Not really. If we can get lots of minerals, we can get that amount back right away. (Selene) Yumir, give it up. The sense for money of a first-class crafter is completely different from a normal player. (Hind) S-Seems like thats the case (Yumir) Eh? Is it that weird? I dont think thats the case though (Selene) Selene-san said that butfor combat type players that rely more or less on getting drops and have to consume consumables, its an amount that is hard to come by. For those kind of players, their main source of income are the subjugation quests that are always available in each town after all. Im in the middle, or should I say Im a blockhead regarding both sides, so I can understand both sides. Especially like that time when I sold accessories unreasonably with the elven ears, I sold them for many times the price of the materials. In Selene-sans case, theres the fact that shes skilled, the price of her gear is higher compared to the average crafter. On top of that, the pace at which she finishes her work is unbelievably fast. All players are replacing their gear for the event, during this time shell probably be able to earn that amount in an instant. In that case, why dont you pick up a crafting skill too, Yumir? Riizu said that she would make restorative medicine with me, so if you did it well, youll earn quite the profit. (Hind) I dont really mind, but I cant do anything difficult, you know? In order to enjoy the game, I dont want to do anything thats really complicated. (Yumir) Ah, in that case, how about agricultural development? You could grow medicinal herbs that can be used for items or ingredients for cooking. If you get used to it, its a simple job that is just repetitive, wouldnt that be good? (Selene) On the other hand, I believe that requires patience, though its most likely less strict that agriculture in real life. Shes not really the type to leave a job half done, so its not that it doesnt fit her. While she was pulling the reins of the camel, Yumir kept nodding while she was thinking about Selene-sans proposal. If Hind supervises me, I think I might be able to do it. Will you do it together with me? (Yumir) Ah, I dont mind. There was this proposal of improving the soil of the desert, shall we begin once this PvP event ends? (Hind) Umu, lets do it that way. In that case, Tobi should be in charge of something else then. (Yumir) You are right (Hind) What would be something that suits Tobi? Though if the person himself says that he doesnt want to do anything other than fighting, I have no intention to force him Shouldnt it be fine if he just helped me with making accessories and throwing weapons? Im making quite a few ninja type items after all, other than thatyou could call him if you need help crafting or anything. In other words- (Hind) Hes in charge of doing odd jobs then. (Yumir and Selene) Doing odd jobs. We are a guild of only five people, there are probably a lot of times where we will need to have everyone in the same place, since Im more or less concerned with all parties, my standing hasnt really changed. Itd be fine to give it a cooler name and call it reserve corps or something like that. Ah, we are about to arrive at our destination. (Selene) Due to Selene-sans words I strained my eyes, I could start to see a rugged rock surface beyond the dunes of the desert. It gave a different feeling to the areas the Basilisk turned into stone. Unlike other regions, it seems like in Lukia desert you dont obtain minerals from the mountains. It seems like this rocky area was originally a quarry. The fact that the top brass used it to get stones to make buildings at first meant that in reality it didnt have that many useful minerals. However, if you kept quarrying deeper, gradually, minerals with enough density would appear. Furthermore, if you dug even deeperit was revealed that there was quite the amount of ore veins. Since the bedrock was quite far from town, the mining hadnt progressed that much, in other words, it means that there are still a large amount of minerals to be mined here. Its probably because its a game, they basically wont get mad at us if players arbitrarily took them. If this was real life, it would be important resources for the country, it would be expected if they were bothered by it. Anyhow, the mining points will just respawn as time passes anyway We finished swinging our pickaxes at the mining points in the outer layer and were now getting ready to dig further underground. The materials we got in the outer layer were mostly Pebbles, even if it was something better it was only Iron ore. It wasnt great. Selene-san, I finished setting it up. (Hind) In that case, shall we light it up and take some distance? (Selene) Once Selene-san took the flint on her hands, Yumir made a very excited face and looked like she wanted to say something. After she frowned her eyebrows in a troubled manner for a second, Selene-san handed the flint over to Yumir. Yumir-san. Can I leave lighting it up to you? (Selene) Is it fine!? (Yumir) Yup, please. (Selene) Im sorry, about her being so flamboyant. She cant really help but want to do this kind of thing with her own hands. Once we confirmed the clattering of the rocks lit a fire on the handmade Gigantic Bo-hiyas fuse, we hurried up and took some distance from there. The camels were hidden waiting in the shade of a rock and just to make sure, I covered my ears with both hands. Along with a muffled sound, smoke and dust danced in the air, even when we took enough distance, shattered fragments of rock rained down on us. As always, I cant understand this firepowereven though I had used a large amount, it makes you doubt that it was gunpowder. The first one to jump from the shade of the rock was Yumir and she cheered in a loud voice. Oooh!! The boulder turned into little pieces! This feels so good! (Yumir) H-Hind-kun, it was more powerful than I expected (Selene) Y-You are right (Hind) However, it doesnt change the fact that it went through the bedrock, so the result was good. This is what they call mining by using explosives. It seems like the ores are mainly underground, we got information that the ground was hard prior to this and came up with this measure. Even in the mines in Beli confederation to the north, players cant get to the ores if they dont dig themselves, seems like mining points are buried. We waited until the dust settled down and we carefully approached the place of the explosion Ooh, from the crumbled area, mining points started shining here and there! Guess this makes it a success. (Hind) Yup, Im glad. Well then, shall we get to work? (Selene) Understood! Alright, Im going to start mining! (Yumir) The mining points that were shining were scattered all over the place, we headed towards the light with the pickaxe and swung it down. Each time I swung it down, a message saying You have obtained iron ore appeared within my field of view, and the items I obtained were automatically sent to my inventory. Iron ore, Iron ore, Iron ore, CobaltHmm!? Once that showed up, I hurriedly verified my inventory, seems like it wasnt my mind playing tricks on me. S-Selene-san, Selene-san! (Hind) Whats wrong, Hind-kun? Did something happen? (Selene) Right now, cobalt appeared! If I remember correctly, cobalt is- (Hind) !? Isnt that a minor metal!? Hind-kun, keep gathering them! Fast! (Selene) Y-Yes! (Hind) What about here!? Doesnt it appear here!? Ah geez, its all iron!! Why!? (Selene) Selene-san was getting excited and breathing roughly, a sight I havent seen. Then, she started swinging with scary vigor down on her own mining point. S-So fast Hey, this is chromium? A material called that appeared. Is this good? (Yumir) Kyaaaaaa!!! Yumir-san, get everything! Gather as much as you can!! Ill go there right now, so please!! I beg you!! (Selene) Y-Yeah. Whats gotten into you, Secchan (Yumir) She just went Kyaaa!! After that, we kept working, until all the lights of the mining points disappeared, we focused on swinging down our pickaxes. As a result, while we were surprised by how excited Selene-san was, we managed to get a small amount of Cobalt and Chromium along with the large amount of iron ore. *End of the chapter* Chapter 66 - This and that regarding the weapons S-Sorry. I got quite noisy right? (Selene) A while after we finished working, Selene-san finally came back to us and lowered her head. She loves blacksmithing to that pointI was quite impressed. Its not like me and Yumir minded it that much. Fumu. Since Secchan is docile, its just right for her to be a bit noisy from time to time. (Yumir) That coming from a person like you, who is normally noisy unless you are eating or sleeping, doesnt have much persuasiveness. (Hind) Once I made that sarcastic remark, having heard that, Yumir looked at me with a surprised expression. Whatdid you just say? (Yumir) You werent self-aware!? You are kidding right!? (Hind) A-Ahahahawell then, shall we go back? (Selene) In our surroundings, there werent any lights we could mine from anymore. It was a sign that we had mined the place completely. With our inventories full, we got on top of our camels again. On our way back, Selene-san asked us about our demands in regards to the weapons and defensive gear. So, I was thinking about starting to make the weapons right away as soon as we got back. What kind of weapon do you want? I would like to know about our course of action right now. (Selene) Hmm. Hind, what do you think? (Yumir) You are asking me? Then, let me return that question Yumir, what do you think about defending in the middle of the match? (Hind) When a knight uses a sword on one hand, it can equip a Shield on the other hand. If I remember correctly, Lycoris-chan from the middle school trio had a shield equipped. I believe unlike Yumir, that girl is a defensive type though. When I looked at Yumir, she showed that she was thinking about it for a second butthe following reply was quite expected coming from her. Its a pain! Its faster to just dodge them! (Yumir) Is what she said. Me and Selene-san exchanged glances and smiled wryly. That being the case, making a sword specialized in offensive power would be better. Thatd be only if you could dodge them. In that case, one more question. What do you think about the weapon you are currently using? Things like if its light or heavy, or the fact that its long or short. (Hind) I think itd be fine if it was a bit heavier. Other than that, I want to make it so that I can reach the enemies when riding on top of the camel! Make it longer than it is right now! (Yumir) Or so she says, Selene-san. Did you get an image? (Hind) Selene-san gave me a nod and continued asking questions to Yumir. Seems like she didnt have enough opinions to solidify the image yet. Yumir-san, you usually swing your weapon with both hands right? Why is that the case? (Selene) Lets see. Arent you able to put more strength into it that way? (Yumir) Having been told that, Selene-san let out a Hmm. Summarizing, it has to be held with both hands and the blade should be longer than an arming sword, increasing the weight a little is no problem, those are the main requirements. In that case a Zweih?nderwould be too big huh? A bastard swordtoo, I cant seem to get a clear image. Hind-kun, what do you think? (Selene) In that case, what about a longsword since its a safe choice? If it was a bastard sword, just as you have said, it might be a bit difficult for Yumir to handle. (Hind) You are right. That might be a good choice. (Selene) Adding to the fact that they can be used with either one hand or two hands, the bastard sword cant only be used to cut but its a weapon that can also be used to thrust. In order to use them in real life, it seems like you needed to do special training. Even if we took into consideration the fact that this is a game, I really doubt that its a weapon that fits Yumir, who is very rough. (TL note: as in not precise) That same Yumir was listening to our conversation and a large amount of question marks floated over her head. Nuh? Hmm? Talk in a way I can understand you! I keep hearing names that sound familiar but they dont come to mind! (Yumir) A Zweih?nder is a big sword thats close to 2 meters. A bastard sword is over 1 meter, a long sword is around 1 meter and is a sword thats used in horse riding. Even though I say that, they are just classified as longswords because of their length. (Selene) Are they different from that greatsword I used before? (Yumir) I wont be making one so big and bulky. Ive got quite a few unsold ones in the storage that we could try out as a reference, so lets test them out after we go back to the guild, Yumir-san. (Selene) I see, that would help. Lets do just that. (Yumir) Among the features of the guild home theres something called a Storage, the guild members can deposit a fixed amount of the items they want in it. It is possible to extend the facility by Investing at some point in the future, its current level is 3. Given its current capacity, there werent any complaints voiced about it so itll probably stay that way for now. I also left ingredients for cooking and things like crafting materials in large quantities in the storage. Since theres a limit to the amount of stuff you can store in your inventory, its a feature that Im quite grateful for. This time too, we headed out to mine after placing the items we didnt need in it. So, what will you do about your weapon, Hind-kun? In order to increase the ways you can attack, will you try switching from a staff to a mace? (Selene) AhSelene-san, you are aware that my reflexes are not that good right? (Hind) W-Well yeah, yup. Last time we both fought together, I saw it from the rear. (Selene) His physical strength is also ordinary. Since we were little, it wasnt unusual for him to react slowly to things. (Yumir) It wasnt so bad in track and field events, but it was really bad when it came to ball sports That being the case, its better if I go with the staff, which is specialized in magic attack like now. (Hind) You were good at dodging in dodgeball right? (Yumir) Because you can understand where the opponent is going to throw if you look carefully. In the end, even if I was the last one standing, it would be my instant defeat. Dodgeballthat sure brings back memories. (Hind) The problem is that if I try to react instantly and move at the same time, itll be hard for me. As a result, even if I had a mace, I dont feel like Id be able to use it well. In order to attack theres the fact that I have to get closer to them myself, theyd notice me getting flustered right away. Unlike mages, Shinto priests can use maces and have considerable offensive power, but that doesnt really change the fact that their defense is low. In the case of the vanguard Shinto priest that fights closer to the opponent, it might be a choice, but as expected, a pure rearguard wont have that much offensive power. Yup, in that case itll be a staff, roger. Given the circumstances Ill make the weapons today, defensive gear will be left for tomorrow. I plan to make my own weapon while at it, but should I make Riizu-chans weapon too? Itd be bad for her to keep using the turtle type right? (Selene) Ah, Ill make Riizus weapon. Ive got an idea. (Hind) What do you plan to make? (Selene) Id say youll have to look forward to seeing the completed product. (Hind) Like that, we kept discussing about the small details regarding the weapons and returned to our guild home. As soon as we were back, Selene-san carried in her arms a lot of swords from the storage and came back to the blacksmiths workshop. Even though she said they were the unsold products, each one of them were first class weapons. Yumir did things like touching the weapons and practice using them and she discussed her thoughts with Selene-san. Id like for there to be a bit more of margin to hold the weapon (Yumir) In that case, how about this one? Its more (Selene) I was next to them, crafting this and that with cowhide and sheepskin. Making these kind of small things without anyone bothering you is also quite fun. The problematic bits are simplified, so if you said that it doesnt give you the feeling that you are making them youd be right. In exchange, being able to do something skillfully felt good, it was another sense of accomplishment different from reality. Alright, something like this? The number of pages should also be enough. I guess a reddish brown that is easy to see will work for the cover. I used a darker color taken into account Riizus element. Furthermore, I made a pattern with leather carving and added some metal fittings to close it overdecorating it. Next up, by writing inside it should be completed but Oh, someone knocked on the door to the blacksmiths workshop. I have returned. (Riizu) Welcome back, Riizu-chan. (Selene) So you came back safelysuch a shame. (Yumir) Did you say something just now, Yumir-san? (Riizu) You are imagining it. I didnt say anything you know? (Yumir) She came back just in time. In that case, shall we have the person herself write inside? Welcome back, Riizu. Sorry for saying this right after you came back, can you take a seat here? (Hind) Yes? (Riizu) Once the bewildered Riizu sat down, I took out a reddish brown liquid from my inventory and placed it on top of the work table. *End of the chapter* Chapter 67 - Making a grimoire What is this liquid?Is it ink? (Riizu) It was probably a guess made after seeing the Book I just made using cowhide and parchment. Its just as Riizu said, its use is about the same. However, the contents are You are right that itll be used as ink. However, thats monsters blood. Its blood. (Hind) Eh (Riizu) To be more precise, its blood from the Horn vipers we fought a while ago in the Lukia Desert. Seems like blood is a rare drop from monsters, I had a bit within my inventory and thats how I placed it in front of us. Wait, why did the corners of Riizus mouth rise up as soon as I said it was blood? Shes scaring me. The players that have used monsters blood said that if you write with it on a book that you made, itll form a type of grimoire according to the type of monster its from. (Hind) Was a grimoire something you could make yourself? I believe normally you would use something that already existed. (Riizu) Thats the case in TB, or at least thats all I can say. (Hind) Besides that, whats the use of a grimoire? (Riizu) A mages weapon. (Hind) Riizus long eyelashes blinked over and over. Yup, seems like she doesnt get it. Guess theres no choice. Without rushing the explanation, I should probably start from the very beginning. Riizu, you said before that the staff was heavy, right? (Hind) Yes. It might be because mages dont have high attack, this thing made of tortoise shell is a bit (Riizu) Saying that, she held up the staff in a tiresome manner. Riizu is shorter than the average people of her age, her physical strength is also below average. I also thought for a moment about the Whip Herrscha used, but that would probably not suit many people. Besides, for some reason, I get the feeling that I shouldnt let Riizu hold a whip. As her brother. A mages staff is usually heavy to be used as a blunt weapon, theres a reason its heavy. So, I looked for a solution and in the threads for each jobin the mages thread, I found some interesting posts. (Hind) According to it, there were blueprints for mages weapons in leathercraft. When I read that, I checked inside the game and Indeed, there was a blueprint for a grimoire that would be used as gear called Wasp?Grimoire that used the body fluids from the bee monster at the beginning Killer bee. However, I get the feeling I have hardly seen any mages without a staff equipped? Its been a bit over a week since we had last seen any players, but what about the current situation? (Riizu) From what Ive seen in the BBS its about the same. One of the reasons for it is because the main ingredient of monsters body fluid/blood has a low chance of dropping. Even the player that posted about the existence of these grimoires said that he didnt think he would go through the trouble of making a second one either. (Hind) So, what about the other reason? (Riizu) The weapon that mages start with is a staff. For people, letting go of something that theyve grown used to requires a decent reason right? (Hind) In terms of performance, they have higher magic attack than staves, but they take much more effort to make. Theres the fact that staves are shared equipment with Shinto priests, theres a stable supply of staves by the crafters. Basically, theres not enough of a reason for them to move on from staves. (Riizu) Thats right. If I had to say, there are not good quality ones around the trading BBS. Even if you made them yourself, if you are not used to working with hide, its pretty annoying. (Hind) In the case of Riizu, there was only the earnest intention of making something lighter for her, so I had been thinking of making a grimoire for her next. Besides, this grimoire, it seems like it will look pretty cool when you use it in battles. Im looking forward to seeing it completed. So, I want Riizu to write inside this book with the horn vipers blood. That will complete the grimoire. (Hind) Thank you very much. However, Hind-san, why didnt you complete it yourself? (Riizu) This appears in the blueprint. Apart from the workmanship of the binding of the grimoire and the page quality, the performance of it will also depend on the strength of the thoughts that the writer writes in itor so it says. (Hind) Hah? (Riizu) It makes you think that its probably using that brainwaves perception feature that Yumirs Heros aura uses. The strength of the writers thoughtsin other words, if the emotions going through the writer as they are writing inside are big, you could say that it has a positive effect on the weapons performance. Things like writing while angry or while you are laughing, I wonder if those would be good? Thats what makes me think. What nonsense (Riizu) I guess you could say its grimoire-like. You could say that there are grimoires that are made up of negative emotions like hatred or cursing. If we are talking about grimoires, it would be all about ritual black magic related to angels and demons. (Hind) So, returning back to my previous question. Why didnt you write yourself inside the grimoire? (Riizu) I didnt feel any particular emotion coming out from myselfso I thought that if I did it myself its performance would be low. Thats why, Ill leave it to you, Riizu. (Hind) So that was the case. (Riizu) I thought about asking Yumir to do it, but felt that that felt kind of wrong. I get the feeling a weird grimoire that radiated flames or had automatic beams would come out. That being the case, I arrived at the conclusion Riizu should write in it since shes the one that is going to use it. I dont really mind if thats the case, but have you decided on what I should write inside? (Riizu) Nope, it seems like if you write inside in Japanese, itll change on its own into the ancient language of this world. Since no other player will be able to read it, it should be fine to write whatever you want. Thats why you can put your all into writing something with all your emotions. (Hind) I understand. I promise you that Ill definitely get the best result possible. (Riizu) She seems to be awfully self-confident. Riizu placed the ink in a quill pen and for some reason, she stared at me. (Riizu) ? Why are you looking at- (Hind) Motionlessly, she stared at me without saying anything. The moment I turned away because I felt uncomfortable, the quill pen moved. Like that, Riizus pen ran fiercely through the paper. Im quite curious about what shes writing, but there was a strange feeling of tension and I couldnt utter a single word. I watched over her while gulping my own saliva. Riizus gaze kept going from the paper to me and back to it over and over. In the blink of an eye, she finished writing on all the pages and when she reached the last page- Eh? Is this already the last one? (Riizu) Having paused, Riizu placed the pen on the table and passed the book to me and I checked if the letters had dried up. The letters had already transformed into something I couldnt read, and the blood seemed to be dry too. Should be fine to close it if its like this. I closed the book, sealed it with the metal fittings and registered it as a completed item in the window. Since Riizu was involved in it, I wrote both of our names in the manufacturers signature. Immediately after that, the book released a dazzling light. Uo, whats this!? Whats this light!? (Yumir) Eh, what!? It resembles the light after a craft is done, but its this intense!? (Selene) The light expanded throughout the room and Yumir and Selene-san stopped their hands from their work and looked at it. The light produced a white-out in our vision and eventually slowly gathered in the book. Once it completely settled down, this time the book was covered with an ominous black fog. Eh? This is completely different from what Ive heard about. If completing one would have this kind of flashy effect, it would have been written in the BBSs post. What was that, Hind!? What exactly have you made!? (Yumir) It lookslike a book? Is it an item? However, I dont think Ive heard about a book type item (Selene) When I tried to open my mouth to explain, some text appeared within my field of view. This happens when a player reaches level cap, or when news appear within the game, but it just didnt feel right with this timing. Everyone shut their mouths for the time being and, followed those words and Hind-sama & Riizu-sama have managed to craft a first-rate Ghyat al-?akm +10! That message was displayed. The atmosphere in the blacksmiths workshop froze because of the unexpected event. -Wait! Heeeeeeey! I dont get whats going on! Explain it to me! Explain it to meeeeeeeee!! (Yumir) Yumirs scream resounded throughout the home. It might have been because I had previous experience with leathercrafting, or might be that Riizus poured her whole heart into it and it won. Anyway, it just so happens that our guild made the first weapon with the highest quality cap within the game. Once I explained it roughly to Yumir, she said in indignation You should have let me in if it was something that interesting!. Besides her, Selene-san looked slightly depressed. Hind-kun made it before me huha first-rate +10, I was aiming for that too. (Selene) No no, it would be different if it was for blacksmithing. Besides, it was a joint work with Riizu just as the message displayed. (Hind) If its Hind-san and me, this is the expected result. (Riizu) Riizu let out a line that I get the feeling I have heard somewhere else proudly. Having heard that, Yumir made quite the unpleasant face, now that I think about it, she did say something similar after our first duel ended. Since it looks like itll take a while until we see the results of our work in duels, this might have been something quite unsatisfactory for Yumir. By the way, for your emotions to give such a high verdictjust what did you write in the book? It cant be something so embarrassing that you cant tell others right? Hmm? (Yumir) Then, pressed on the contents that I didnt ask her about. However, Riizu replied like this nonchalantly. I expressed in this book all the feelings I have towards Hind-san. Though there werent enough pages in it. Stronger feelings than these dont exist in this world, right? (Riizu) Since she declared such words in a refreshing manner, I unconsciously stiffened. Selene-sans cheeks reddened and Yumir looked as if she had bitten a bitter-tasting bug. *End of the chapter* Chapter 68 - Testing the grimoire and crafting the new defensive gear In the training area that was in the homes basement. The walls, ceiling and floor here were set to being indestructible, a place where you could perform various battle drills. If you had players to face against, you could also practice without it leaving a mark in your fight history. There are also multiple settings like for example setting the HP to be infinite, it also gives a chance to test out the range of skills. We stopped our crafting for the time being and came to the training area. Yumir and Selene-san had also taken an interest in the grimoire, so we all headed towards the training area. While walking, I replied to Tobis email, at the end we descended through some stairs. Since the content of the email was about the previous announcement, I replied telling him that Id explain in detail at school. After finishing doing that, Riizu released the metal fittings from the grimoire she had been carrying under her arm. Eh, Hind-san? (Riizu) Then she looked at me as in implying she didnt know how to use it. I opened the menu that was situated at the entrance of the training area and installed a dummy in front of Riizu, and I indicated to her that she should touch it with her hand. Did you touch it? Have you entered into a battle state? (Hind) Yes. The dummys HP is now displayed. (Riizu) In that case, try letting go of the grimoire? As if you were lightly throwing it in front of you. (Hind) L-Like this? (Riizu) With both hands, Riizu let go of the grimoire which was opened at a random page. When she did so -The bookis floating? (Riizu) Ooh!! What is that!? What is that!? (Yumir) Its softly floatingits true that if its like this, weight doesnt matter. (Riizu) The grimoire that was floating in front of Riizu was staying afloat because of some unknown power. As a test, I had Riizu run around, it was a bit delayed but the grimoire followed after her. Fundamentally, itll stay at a height around the area of the chest, at a distance where you could reach it if you extended your arm a bit. However, it seems like you can adjust it and move it from there, Riizu hated how it would obstruct her field of view so she moved it to above her left hand. It seems like you could move it around with your mind, so it made me understand that it was using high level technology that felt like a waste on such a minor weapon. This is wonderful. If it floats both my hands will be free when I move around, it makes it really easy to move around. (Riizu) Thats nice. Well then, shall we have you try using magic next? (Hind) Is there something else? (Riizu) Yeah there is. Riizu, use a spell with a long chant. That will make it easier to see whats different compared to the staff. (Hind) Understood. (Riizu) Riizu started chanting a magic skill. A magic square floated at her feet and the operating grimoire released light The pages turned over on their own accord at high speeds. T-That is coolso stylish! (Yumir) Yumirs eyes were sparkling. I agreed wholeheartedly, just this made it worth going through the trouble. Right!? Its cool right!? (Hind) It also really suits Riizu-chan. (Selene) Given that display, there was no doubt that it was a superior weapon. When you use magic with a staff, it would only end up with the gem at the tip shining, it wouldnt give such an elaborate reaction. At the same time she finished chanting, the grimoire stopped at a certain page simultaneously. As if it was supporting the magic, for a moment, the grimoire displayed a magic circle. The skill was released from Riizus hand. The atmosphere trembled, the dummy that was her target made creaking noises and started getting crushed. The origin of what was dealing continuous damage to the training dummy was the dark element magic Graviton Wave. An AoE big spell that strengthens gravity and crushes its targets. The damage was moderate at best, but if you used it in combination with the disruptive magic Slow, it could forcefully ground a target that Shadow weaving is unable to stop at all. Guoooo!! My body feels heavy!! (Yumir) -Wait, why are you getting yourself dragged into it!? Come on, give me your hand! (Hind) H-Hang on Yumir-san! This way, dont enter the area! (Selene) Selene-san and I pulled Yumir out of the area together. The crushed Yumir was lying limply on the ground. Riizu had an exasperated expression on her, so I believe it wasnt on purpose and it was just the result of Yumir wanting to get a closer look at the grimoire. Along with a sigh, I cast Healing towards Yumir. However, this skill sure covers a wide areathis might be a bit hard to use while in a party. Once the effective time of the skill ended, the book closed with a bang and returned to Riizus hand. After catching it with her left hand, Riizu took a breath. Fuh. Thank you very much, Hind-san. I really like it. (Riizu) Yeah. Good for you. (Hind) Riizu gave a charming smile. It was a charming smile that would make it impossible for someone to see it and not get a favorable impression of her, if I I didnt look at her as a relative. However, there was a girl that wasnt affected by it here. GununuI want to use a new weapon already too!! Lets return to blacksmithing right now! Hind, Secchan!! (Yumir) Ah, Yumir-san! Wait! (Selene) Selene-sans followed after Yumir, who was burning with competitiveness, and they climbed the rough stairs. Me and Riizu exchanged wry smiles and left the training area right after. That being said, Yumirs sword probably wont have any flashy gimmicks. She already stands out with only her Heros aura, I believe a simple sword would be fine. The next day, there wasnt much conversation within the guild home. That being said, it wasnt because there had been a fight, everyone was just absorbed in their work. Riizu and Yumir were in charge of chores that didnt need much skill, Selene-san and I took care of the rest silently. Selene-san and I worked together and finished the weapons yesterday night. Selene-san was in charge of Yumirs defensive gear, and I was crafting my own via sewing. The reason mine wasnt made of metal was because with just the defense of a Shinto Priest it would be too heavy and Id be unable to move. Even then, Im using the special product of this country Salas cloth that is a magical cloth which has stab-proof properties, so itll probably have more defense than my last one. Once Im free, I plan to make Selene-sans and Riizus defensive gear with this too. Fundamentally, its hard for rearguards to equip heavy defensive gear. I wonder why, this breastplate section that Yumir-san usesor when I make this waist side, I get this severe sense of defeat (Selene) Suddenly, in the blacksmiths workshop that was silent apart from the sound of us working, Selene-san muttered that. A question mark appeared above Yumirs head, but Riizu replied with a I get what you mean. No, dont go looking at me with that timing, both of you. In this situation, what should I say as a guy? Hind-kun, do you prefer them big? (Selene) Selene-san asked me that while holding up the breastplate made of metal. I hate myself for understanding what she meant. Ah, eh No comment. (Hind) Eeeh- (Riizu and Selene) Bigger are better!! Smaller are better!! I dont have the guts to say something bold like that in that kind of situation. Against such a vague answer, Selene-san and Riizu became sullen while looking dissatisfied at the same time. They are perfectly in syncin such a short amount of time, you girls sure have become friendly What are you guys talking about? Something about bigger Somehow, it has to do with me right? (Yumir) Unfortunately, it was a talk related to some troubles Yumir-san will never be able to understand. (Riizu) Sorry, I might not be able to tell you. (Selene) Hind! These two are leaving me out! Why!? Whyyyyy!? (Yumir) Sometimes, people give birth to despair and malice when facing a force that is too strong for them. While she cant understand that, Yumir will never be able to fully comprehend those two. I mean, this was a very uncomfortable topic and atmosphere for the only person that was from the opposite sex. If it was possible, I would like to summon Tobi right now and make some tea. While praying that this ended soon, I focused on the needle in my hand and started working. *End of the chapter* While I did say there was going to be a delay, I didnt expect to get sick right after saying it so the timing was a bit coincidental. I cant say Im fully recovered yet but I managed to translate another chapter just in time so here you go. Ill restrain myself from saying the next chapter will be released in time since Im not extremely motivated right now. Anyway, hope you have enjoyed the chapter. Chapter 69 - Combat preparations completed New gear! New gear! Uoooooooooooooooo!! (Yumir) Yumir, you are being noisy! You are bothering the other people so stay quiet! (Hind) Having equipped her new sword and armor, Yumir was moving restlessly around the stable. Each time she moved a metallic sound resounded, there was nothing noisier than this. The camels that were close were moving their mouths while looking really annoyed. It might be because of knights base defense, Yumirs movements were light even while wearing the armor. If its like this, it doesnt seem like her agility will fall down much compared to how it was before. Having completed our equipment more or less, we started moving to the habitat of the monsters Riizu found that gave a high amount of experience while riding on the camels. Of course, doing it as a party is more efficient so we asked Selene-san to come. Thinking about the remaining time left on the event, we are aiming to have everyone reach level 40 by the end of the day. We asked the guard in the stable of the royal capital for the camels we left in their care and each one of us got on top of our camels. Once we left town, we just headed towards the horizon from the scenery of the desert we had already grown accustomed to. While looking at Yumir, who was in a good mood because of the new gear, I approached Selene-sans camel. Be that as it may, why are the cases where the female armor dont have a helmet so many? The one Yumir is using is the same right? (Hind) I also thought about making a helmet at the start. But since Yumir-san has long hair, I thought she would be cooler if she fought with her silver hair fluttering around. (Selene) True enough, if it was a plate armor helmet you wouldnt be able to see her face, and usually youd have to fit the hair into the helmet. I agreed that it would be a waste. Ah, so it was because of that reason. In that case, I understand. Looks are important. (Hind) You understand? (Riizu) Riizu expressed her doubts, but this wasnt a real life battle but a game. Looks are more important than practicality, personal tastes take a big part in it. Even the me right now, had just made that kind of grimoire. There is also the fact that if you equip a helmet your field of view will get worse. Though since the head is a vital part of the body, its a trivial demerit compared to when you are not wearing one. In that case, protect your head with your fighting spirit!! I guess itd be fine to leave it like that? Once I showed that I understood what she meant, Selene-san continued talking as if she had remembered something. Arent they using a similar reason for doing it in other games? If the heroine was covered in full armor from beginning to end and you couldnt see her face at all- (Selene) Most people would be disappointed, right? Certainly, if it was a cute character, theyd be happier if they could see her face. (Hind) With that kind of flow, the cases where the females didnt have a helmet on have been many since the old days, if you told me that Id comprehend it. Though I dont really know the truth behind it myself. On the other hand, there are also cases where they go for a mysterious atmosphere and they dont show their faces until the mid-game or endgame. (Selene) And they would do things like become a comrade in the middle, or a pattern where the truth is that they are actually a friend of the main party members? Though that doesnt apply only to female characters. (Hind) Arent you both straying away from the original topic more and more? (Riizu) Just as Riizu had said, this only applies to games that have a story. We have already derailed from the topic of female armour in online games. Though if we said we were thinking about the origins of it, we werent that far from the topic. At that moment, Yumir, who had advanced as the vanguard, went back to us and said this to me. I am your father. (Yumir) Thats not true!! (Hind) Wait a moment. When he said that line in the scene, his face wasnt exposed right? Right? (Selene) I dont get whats going on anymorehah (Riizu) At that point, we completely shifted to a conversation that didnt have anything to do with games. And I even went along with Yumir and shouted in reactionso embarrassing. While continuing with our idle chat, we headed like that towards the east with Yabilga Desert as our objective. Maija was in the middle of the road, but we didnt go through it this time and kept going forward. We kept proceeding for a while and entered Yabilga Desert, Yumir looked restless and looked around. Are we not there yet? I want to test out the new gear already! (Yumir) Yumirs defensive gear was a First rate Desert Alloy Armor +7, when it was completed and it wasnt a +10, Selene-san was quite frustrated. Even then, thinking about the degree of difficulty of blacksmithing, it had incredible performance. Yumir was really happy with the result, and thanked Selene-san repeatedly. In terms of numbers, compared to the previous leather armor, its defense values were more than double. The armor was specially made by using plenty of the minor metals Cobalt and Chromium that we had gathered, in order to make the alloy we had to heat up the furnace to pretty high temperatures. Other than that, Selene-san mixed in something else other than iron, but sadly she kept that a secret. That being the case, I left the ratios and the rest of the materials up to her, so I didnt know what to call that alloy. By the way, leaving Riizu aside, our Weapons were already finished by using the same alloy. In terms of name, they were all unified in a simple Desert Alloy series. Naturally, since they all used the unique alloy Selene-san made so they were all arranged gear. Please, have patience. The place is further to the north. (Riizu) Riizu, you sure searched through quite the extensive range. Was it dangerous? (Hind) It was fine. Though I turned back right after I saw the monsters inside the pyramid we can now see over there being level 50. (Riizu) As Riizu pointed out, before us stood a pyramid. So there really were pyramidsI couldnt see it because of the sandstorm. Yumir and me, who havent noticed its existence until a moment ago, looked up to it and stood there dumbfounded for a while. Selene-san was the only one that noticed before Riizu pointed it out, so she replied like this instantly. You sure did well to go in aloneif it was me, I would have been impossible because Id be scared. (Selene) I only checked the monsters levels after all. Though I did defeat whatever I thought I could defeat. (Riizu) My sister is quite cold-hearted and bold. However, if the monsters are level 50, if we dont wait for the next level cap update, exploring the pyramid will be hard. Nonchalantly, Riizu said Well nearly be there after passing by the pyramid and we kept proceeding once she pointed further north. It was a strange place. Above the particles of sand, there were many camels walking around carefreely in the wild. The scenery felt out of place and I didnt know what to say, so I strained my eyes to take a better look. Without minding that, Yumir carefreely got closer to those camels. Wait. Stop right there. (Riizu) Fuoh!? (Yumir) After receiving a splendid foot sweep, Yumir beautifully fell down. Right now, we had all got off our camels, our camels were standing by a bit behind us. Ignoring Yumir who raised a protest, Riizu took out a stone from her inventory and threw it at the camels. W-What are you doing, Riizu-chan? (Selene) Yeah yeah! Isnt that just animal abuse!? (Yumir) Be quiet and look. Youll know soon enough. (Riizu) Like that, once the second and third stone landed close to the camelssuddenly, the sand below them started rattling and moved- A gigantic fish with its mouth opened appeared. It gulped down the stones Riizu threw along with sand, and it went under the sand again. What we thought were camels were tied to the fishs forehead area, and along with its movements, they were shaking. Our jaws dropped when we saw that happen. Its a monster called Mimicry Angler. It looks similar to a football fish, the lantern part mimics other living beings and it lures its food with it. (Riizu) Now that she mentions it, the movements of the camels that were moving around were somehow odd *End of the chapter* Chapter 70 - Starting line The first time I encountered this monster, the lantern was hanging while taking the form of humans. (Riizu) You said humans!? Thats quite underhanded!! (Yumir) Well, Yumir fell for it when it took the form of camels though. (Hind) According to what Riizu said, they were even wearing clothes properly and looked weakened as if they were asking for help. Their movements were a bit odd like with the camels, but their appearance was perfect. Regarding the strength of the monster, with enough time, Riizu is able to defeat it alone, so its not that strong. However, how is it able to mimic the appearance of humans? Dont tell me, that it extracts information from them after eating them or something like that?Just imagining it is scary so lets leave it at that. It mimicked a relatively handsome guy, but Im not the type of person that would be deceived by something like that. After all, no matter how much it works on its outer appearance, it cant hide that whats inside is ugly. (Riizu) Oh? Oh? Was that a self introduction? (Yumir) Im going to crush your finger you know, Yumir-san? (Riizu) Look, wasnt that just a self introduction!? So violent! (Yumir) But Yumir-san, you are admitting that Riizu-chans outer appearance is good, huh (Selene) Looking ahead towards the desert, there were many camels, you wouldnt be able to tell which ones are the real thing unless you got closer and observed them. Since they were mimicking them on purpose, there are probably a few real ones within them. There were a few plants with spines growing out of them, so it makes you think that the wild camels used those as a landmark to stop here. Even some of those plants, could it be that they are being mimicked too? In fact, if there were some weird people here in this situation, you wouldnt be able to properly tell what was mimicked and what wasnt. Ah, just as I was thinking that, an older girl with a pointlessly high degree of exposure (Hind) That one is easy to understand. Though it wouldnt be weird for guys to approach her without thinking if they didnt know anything. Now that we know whats underneath, theres no way I would fall for it. To begin with, if I thought about it calmly, she would burn herself wearing those dancer clothes. Theres no way someone would wear those clothes under this blazing sun. As I was watching that, my field of view turned dark suddenly. !! Dont look Hind!! (Yumir) Shes right! If you were to look at that, your eyes will be corrupted! (Riizu) It hurts!! Your fingers are going into my eyes, they are going into my eyes!! Im even swallowing sand!! (Hind) It might have been because both of them jumped at me while being flustered, but my field of view was all distorted. If this was real life, theres no doubt that my eyes would be bright red. H-Hind-kun, are you alright!? -Jeez, you shouldnt do that both of you! (Selene) S-Secchan hasgotten angry!? (Yumir) I-Im sorry (Riizu) Since an unlikely person has gotten angry, both of them got surprised and removed their hands from my face. Selene-san handed me some water, so I used it to wash my eyes. With that, the blurriness disappeared and my vision gradually returned to normal. Thank you, Selene-san (Hind) Hind-kun, rest over there for a while. Well go first and defeat that Mimicry Angler that has taken the form of a woman. (Selene) Eh, with the three of us!? Are we going to be fine leaving Hind out? (Yumir) Yumir-san, its our fault that it ended like this. Besides, I want to remove what that monster is mimicking from Hind-sans sight as soon as possible. (Riizu) O-Oh, you are right. Sorry about that, Hind. Well be going away for a bit. (Yumir) Ah. Be careful. (Hind) After saying that, Yumir with her longsword size Desert Alloy Sword, and Selene-san with her really big Desert Alloy Crossbow broke into a run. Riizu was carrying her Ghyat al-?akm under her arm. Selene-san, Riizu and my defensive gear didnt look that different compared to before, they were just an upgrade using the Sala cloth. That being the case, I dont think our current gear will fall behind against the monsters around here. While holding my Desert Alloy Staff, I sighed at the fact that I was left alone here. I also wanted to try out the new gear However, my vision is still blurry and participating in the fight like this would be dangerous. Since it cant be helped, guess Ill just find a place over there to rest. This pointlessly realistic damage to the eyes, is just inconvenientHmm? However, on the other hand, thinking about it, if we aimed at peoples eyes in PVP- Hahahaha! Whats with those lukewarm attacks!! (Yumir) When I looked towards the cheerful voice, I saw Yumir stopping the charge of the fish with an imposing stance. Just as her words implied, she was barely taking any damageSelene-sans armor is amazing Following that, when Riizus Darkness Ball stopped it in its tracks, Selene-san took a low angle firing stance and scooped it out from the ground sending it flying high in the sky with Blast Arrow. Then, Yumir leaped andheroically cut it in half with Heavy Slash. Having been cut in half, the Mimicry Angler fell over on the desert. Like that, it vanished by turning into particles of light. Ah, I levelled up. I mean, Im still in the party after allthis emptiness of leveling up without doing anything It seems like Riizus investigation was accurate, seems like the experience we got from Mimicry Anglers was quite high. Their fighting strength is also as Riizu said, other than the first bite when they bait you with mimicry, they didnt seem that strong. Its only redeeming quality was that it has high HP. If its like this, we will probably be able to reach level cap easily. I have to thank Riizu again laterits a good farming spot. Tobi-sama has successfully reached level 40!! Ohunless Im mistaken, there was a familiar name in that announcement. It was a message about Tobi reaching level cap right? There cant be two players with the same name, so it cant be another person with the same name. Its also something that is possible with the amount of time he has played, so the timing wasnt really weird. Even then, he sure is fast. So he already got there and finished his preparations for the duels, huh? This means that his other party member is also quite the gamer, then. The other three party members that are coming back here seem to have seen it too, they stopped for a moment on their way back and then started walking again. Yumir, who looked merry from testing out the new gear, returned looking irritated and talked to me. Did you see that just now, Hind? To think thatto think that Tobi would get past us!! Damn!! (Yumir) Ah, I saw it. Guess we can lose to him thenthere we go. (Yumir) I stood up while brushing off the sand from my clothes, and used Healing on Yumir, who had taken a very small amount of damage. Are you fine already?, after being asked that by Selene-san, I signaled that there were no problems with my hand, I got motivated and grasped my staff. Alright, starting from now on, lets not think about anything and just focus on farming! Leave managing our HP and MP to me, everyone just focus on attacking! (Hind) Yes, Ill do my best. (Selene) We cant tolerate losing to Tobi-san after all. Lets get to level cap right away. (Riizu) OK! I refuse to fail in the preliminaries! Lets aim for winning the whole tournament!! (Yumir) We farmed Mimicry Anglers. We kept hunting and hunting until we didnt see anything that was mimicked in our surroundings. As a result, we managed to get to level 40 within the day somehow. With this, we could finally focus on the duels. As a byproduct of this, we were also able to capture a few wild camels. With this, we should be able to sell them in town at a suitable price and earn quite a bit of gold. Furthermore, we managed to get Monkfishs fillet and a big amount of Ankimo as drops from the Mimicry Anglers. No matter how you look at them, these are not materials for weapons and defensive gear but ingredients for foodonce we return home, maybe Ill make some anglerfish hotpot? Chapter 71 - Study group and BBS Question 7. Answer with the most commonly used academic language in middle ages Europe. Answer. English. Seeing that stupid answer, I, who was looking at him solving the questions beside him, unconsciously hung my head and held my head in my arms. Shuuhei didnt pay attention to me and his gaze shifted to the next question. Hey, are joking around? Was that on purpose? It had to be right? Im begging you, please tell me you were! (Wataru) Eh, its not? I mean, you can get by as long as you know English if you want to travel to Europe right? (Shuuhei) Dont go ignoring words like academic language and middle ages! Ugh, Im getting a headache (Wataru) The correct answer was Latin. It was nearly time for the tests and we were having our usual study session to avoid getting a failing grade. Though, the one at risk of getting a bad grade wasnt me but mainly Shuuhei and Miyu. That being the case, during this time, we mainly gather in the library on the first floor where there arent that many students and concentrate on studying. The world history we were studying right now, contained information that was close to the middle ages world in TB. However, would they take an interest in the world setting of the game they are playing? What Shuuhei didnt have issues in world history with was remembering the names of military figures. Wataru, Wataru! Help me with this please! (Miyu) Ah, whichwait, what happened to physics? (Wataru) Im already done with that. Ill do something about it myself! More importantly, math! I cant understand Trigonometric functions at all!! (Miyu) Like this, Miyu was weak at science and math, but since she did take lessons seriously, she was far better than Shuuhei. If you explained the basics to her carefully, she would be able to remember them more or less. After taking a look at the part she had problems with, it would be fine if you tried to explain it to her in an easy to understand way. It would be something like that, all thats left would be repeating it over and over. If theres something you still dont get, ask me. (Wataru) Understood, Ill give it a try. (Miyu) Since Miyu had started to solve her math problems, I went back to checking the answers on Shuuheis side. Shuuhei didnt have anything special he was bad at, his academic grades were low overall, he was even shaky when it came to basics from middle school. Usually I would just cram all the answers in his head just before the test, and have him force his way through the test periods. He seemed like the type of person who would forget about something after a while if he didnt have any interest in it, so I have half given up on teaching him. That being the case, when it came down to Shuuhei, I had him memorize what I thought he would be able to get points with. Even then, I keep getting irritated when he gets stuff right like Charlemagne and Richard the 1st as usual. Once I approached the end of the middle ages world history testtowards what filled the question at the end Shuuhei answered like this when faced with the question. What drove knights away from being the main military force were Ninjas, from the 16th century onwards, thanks to Shurikens gaining prominence, they started to make a name for themselves among social ranks. I can only let out a dry laugh. When Shuuhei finished solving the questions, he handed me the questions while wearing a face that was saying I managed to solve them!. Im going to beat him up. By the way, the answer for the first part was mercenaries and firearms for the second part. You can go back already. From these answers, doesnt your desire to go back and play the game leak from them? (Wataru) Wait, dont abandon me! Ill do it seriously! If I dont have Wacchi, Ill go straight to the failing grade!! (Shuuhei) In that case look, Ill rewrite the parts you got wrong with a red pen. Take a look at them and memorize them in 10 seconds. (Wataru) Even though its this bright red!? (Shuuhei) I believe the fact that its this red is his own fault though. The 10 second part was a joke, but Ill be troubled if he cant remember this amount of information in a short amount of time. They often say that teaching others is tied to learning it yourself, this study session also served for me to review the content. Since I started doing this, even if I didnt manage to make time to study by myself, I was still able to keep my usual grades. The only thing that was troublesome was Shuuhei not taking it seriously. Once they were solving their questions, I was free for a bit. Halfway through, I saw Saitou-san on the other side of the window so we chatted for a bit, but she had already returned to her club activities. It would be fine for me to study on my own, but they usually have questions so I cant really concentrate. After thinking about it I took out my smartphone, and accessed the TBs BBS while drinking tea. Lately whenever I have some free time, I have gotten into the habit of taking a look at the BBS. ** Upper rankings]Duel even rankings thread 7Surpassed 2000 rating!!] This is a thread to talk about the preliminary rankings in the ongoing PvP tournament. Due to the nature of the thread, mentioning the name of people that got into the rankings is not prohibited, but be careful not to slander in the case that a name is posted. Ignore the trolls and be well mannered. The next thread will be made once we reach >>900 comments. 333Nameless ArcherIDZeAmcsg Aaaaahh!! I wont make iiiiit! I cant get past rating 1800!!! 334Nameless Light warriorIDiRmQfVc Oh, the people that come here in crazy mode have gone up LOL. 335Nameless Shinto priestIDWmSsw8p The preliminaries are only through today, after all. Me? Ive already given up. (Around 1600 rating) 336Nameless MageIDDz3Mag4 The main event is finally tomorrow, huh? When were bets opened again? 337Nameless Martial artistIDkJ4zScZ Wasnt it for the top 8? They should take bets from Sunday 00:00 hours until the tournament starts. 338Nameless KnightID5zKA3sL The duo at the top of Mercenary Albert?Philia is strong Rating 2100are they monsters? LOL I wonder if its decided that these two would be the champions? ** Done! Eh, Wacchi is the only one that gets to look at his smartphone! Thats unfair!! (Shuuhei) Its not unfair. Who do you think this study session is for? However Shuuhei, Albert aniki is at the top of the preliminary rankings. (Wataru) Right! His partner has a feminine name but I dont know who she is, theyve been at the top from the start. Aniki is amazing!! As expected of him! (Shuuhei) From the way he said that, that would mean that Shuuhei didnt contact him even though he had him in his friend list. I would have liked some previous information about strong opponents. At the very least, guess I should pray that we dont match up with them in the first round. Those muscles are scary. Before going back to looking at the BBS, I checked Shuuheis answersyup, he barely got a passing grade. He should be able to pass the test somehow like this. Once Miyu finishes with hers, todays study session should be over. Since we reached a good place to stop, Ill go get something to drink (Shuuhei) Sure, go ahead. (Wataru) Since Shuuhei got up from his seat, I returned to looking at the smartphone. Even in that situation, Miyu was still concentrating and answering her questions. ** 361Nameless MageIDxzVrZ5F However, looking at this, unexpectedly jobs are all over the place. 362Nameless KnightIDT6AfWwz That is proof that the game has good balance. I would rather not have a PvP tournament where a skill is completely broken. 363Nameless Heavy warriorIDHxj9MtK The online games Ive played until now were mostly really unbalanced though. (??) 364Nameless Heavy warriorIDuE2c7Ux You wouldnt know. It might just be that the devs havent released anything bad yet. It doesnt guarantee that it wont happen from now on. 365Nameless KnightIDT6AfWwz With the current TB, it would only be something like Arrow Rain. Its a skill that gets hate. 366Nameless Shinto priestIDuE2c7Ux Those kinds of skills are the ones players shouldnt have. They are hated in every game. 367Nameless Light warriorIDrgdVSKT However, that does mean that rapid fire archers are strong. 368Nameless KnightIDw5LrLBD This is the tally of the people that are currently in the rankings. Heavy warrior 107 people Light warrior 60 people Knight 85 people Martial artist 31 people Archer 136 people Mage 53 people Shinto priest 40 people 256 pairs, total of 512 people 369Nameless MageIDGPRNhx2 Ah, looking at that it does look like heavy warriors and archers are superior. If Im right, the pairs where they combined both were the most common. Did the healing strategy of pairing up a martial artist with a Shinto priest not go well? 370Nameless KnightIDw5LrLBD Since there are plenty of martial artists with high ratings within the ranking, I believe its just the difference in the population of the job. People that use them quite well are really strong in duels. If the amount of them increase for the tournament, theres a possibility that there will be a surge of new martial artists after its over. Its just that that is not the case for Shinto priest, looking at it, there are not many left at the top. 371Nameless Shinto priestIDSs3Rm6S Youd know if you tried it, but there are just not enough means to defend ourselves When they get closer to you, its hard to get away from them, the cases where you die before your vanguard are many. 372Nameless ArcherIDAdPHgp7 Is it not good even if you are a balanced type that learns offensive magic? 373Nameless Shinto priestIDSs3Rm6S If you spend your MP on attacks, you cant make the best use of your strong point which is healing. This only turns you into a worse version of a mage. As a result, since you would lose in a damage race, your usefulness as a rearguard makes you worthless. 374Nameless ArcherIDTprY5ft Among Shinto priests, I believe the most suited for duels is the vanguard type. If they gain enough time and their partner is able to provide the firepower, they can more or less have a go at it. 375Nameless MageIDP6gUeM5 If its Healing, they are able to cast it in an instant after all. However, its true that vanguard Shinto priests are hard and annoying, but I have never thought of them as scary. 376Nameless Light warriorID7aZ3HVV Conclusion. The brute force approach of heavy warrior and archer is the most stable one. 377Nameless Martial artistIDLZLWejw Its the era of big physical dps after all. Though now that we are saying that forcing your way through is the most stable method, it is kind of saddening. 378Nameless Shinto priestIDiAZNXzB Thats why I have high hopes. If in this kind of situation, something like mages or light warriors were to splendidly toy around with them That would be cool. 379Nameless Heavy warriorIDfJajgBs Mages around the top0, huh? The one that is paired up with that vanguard Shinto priest who is called Jalousie, these ones were those masked players right? 380Nameless KnightIDus5TBga Thats the case, but those guys were orange players you know? Once they find a couple, they would attack them, they are the guild master and vice-master of that famous PK guild. 381Nameless Heavy warriorIDfJajgBs Ah, thats nice. Personally, theres some people that will appear in the main event that Id want to see them explode LMAO. 382Nameless Martial artistIDLZLWejw Like that harem guy, Licht? Though this guy is not at the level of couples. 383Nameless Heavy warriorIDfJajgBs Right right LOL. Hes the good looking guy type and also strong right? Right(#^^) 384Nameless MageIDLPtxdHm Hes even in the top rankings as if it was natural, dont screw with me! A while ago I saw him in town and the girls surrounding him had increased! Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! 385Nameless ArcherIDWsxjPcs @383 @384 Does this count as slander? 386Nameless Light warriorIDZPL68ZJ Nah LOL. Dont worry, its just the replies of the jealous ugly people LOL. However, theyll get mad at us soon, so someone should change the topic please. ** I have a faint feeling, but it seems like Shinto priests are at a disadvantage when it comes down to duels as I had expected. Then, theres many people that have an impression that heavy warriors and archers are strong. As expected, Arrow Rain is strong. Though I have prepared enough countermeasures for it. Besides that, something came to mind when they were on the topic of that couple PK guildit cant be right? ** 392Nameless Heavy warriorIDeypwfse @386 In that case Ill do it. Speaking of knights Personally, I have high hopes for Hero-chan, who climbed up through the ranks really quickly in the second half (Shes pretty after all). 393Nameless Light warriorIDBGhGADR @392 You real thoughts are leaking LMAO. Well, shes ranked lower that Licht, but with that ranking shes guaranteed to get into the main event. Yesterday, the people in the fetish thread were in party mode and got really excited. 394Nameless MageIDmj4iBTg Im kinda sad that the cute Riizu-chan is not going to appear. (??`) 395Nameless Martial artistIDpUxDxFX Ah? Isnt Hero-chan far cuter!? 396Nameless Archer IDAKTEeB8 @394-395 Stop instigating a fight LOL. By the way, her partner is the Shinto priest that used Sacrifice? 397Nameless Heavy warriorIDtTspm2R Most likely? I have no interest in guys so Im not too sure. 398Nameless ArcherIDAKTEeB8 So cold towards guys LMAO. ** Yeah hes really coldoh well. If they are not cautious of me so be it, they can do whatever they want. When I placed my smartphone inside my pocket, it was just in time for when Miyu stopped moving her hand and brought me her answer sheet. Im done, Wataru! Praise me! (Miyu) I took it and when I checked the answers, there were a few careless mistakes but they were mostly right. I guess I can take this as her understanding the contents. Yup yup, not bad. With this, you should be fine in the test. In that case, we should tidy up, buy something sweet and go back? (Wataru) Crepe!! Wataru, I want to eat a crepe! One with plenty of chocolate! (Miyu) While tidying her writing tools at incredible speeds, Miyu came to me with a request. If shes talking about crepes, theres plenty of stores on our way back but Crepes, huh? In that case, we should go to some sto- (Wataru) I dont want them unless they are homemade by Wataru!! Arent those with the warm batter better!? I dont want those cold pre-made batter ones!! (Miyu) Yeah yeah. Lets stop by the supermarket then, and we are splitting the costs of the ingredients. (Wataru) I collected Shuuheis things quickly, who still hadnt returned, we met in the hallway and headed back. *End of the chapter* Chapter 72 - nvitation to the arena We were currently in the plaza in Royal Capital Waaha, waiting for the arena to open. The main tournament was divided into eight blocks, it was set so that the winner of each would advance like that to the top 8. 32 duos participated in each block, in total, if we won five times we would be able to participate in tomorrows fights. In the case that a player doesnt show up, it seems like theyll replace them with NPCs. That being the case, theres no winning by default, this was done so you wouldnt get information about your next opponent, the developers said that the NPCs would be quite strong. If there was a win by default, they could make up strategies and countermeasures for the next match and there wouldnt be any recordings, making the opponents be at quite the disadvantageor so they said. Its possible to watch the matches directly in the venue, but any player can watch the tournament matches immediately after the match via replays. That being the case, it makes you think that NPCs wont appear at the top of the tournament. Nevertheless, Im curious about what kind of NPCs will participate. The queen stated that no one from the desert would appear, so that would mean itd be someone from the other countries. Riizu looked as if she didnt have much to do and while she was fixing the position of her hat, she talked to me, who was in a daze thinking about the outline of the main event. Now that I think about it, what group are you in, Hind-san? (Riizu) Lets see, its group H. The last one. (Hind) I was grateful that Selene-san and Riizu had come to the venue with us to cheer for us directly. The mage that was in each town will open the Gate to transfer us. Then you could wish for which groups arena you would like to be warped to. It was the same for the audience but there was a restriction to the number of people, its expected that the venue that hosts the matches of the duo of Mercenary Albert?Philia will be full in a short amount of time since they are the favorites to win the whole thing. Even the empires mage who was in front of us right now, was standing still surrounded by a large number of players waiting for the main event to start. Looking at this, the players in the desert sure have increased in number, SecchanSecchan? (Riizu) That wont work Riizu. Selene-san, she hasnt said a word since a while ago in order to not stand out. (Hind) Incidentally, on top of using me as a shield, she had curled herself up in order to hide herself from the gazes of the surrounding players. There was a reason for her ending in this state Ooh, its the real one! Its Hero-chan, the real one! Is there a copy-cat of me? I would like to meet her. (Yumir) Im definitely cheering for you in the match! Do your best as the representative of the desert! Umu, thanks! Ill do my best! (Yumir) Please, shake my hand! Sure, I dont really mind. (Yumir) -Thank you very much! Aah, Im so glad I came to Sala!! Because we were the first ones in front of the mage, Yumir, who was with us stood outI guess I should say as expected of celebrity that even had a thread made especially for her. Since there werent that many players in the desert before, to think that coming here would feel the same as it was during the preliminaries was just wrong. When we noticed, behind us were a lot of players standing next to each other waiting for the event inauguration. Im glad we came a bit ahead of time. However, since Yumir was casually replying to the voices surrounding us, it was unnecessarily getting heated up. In this case, its amazing that the voices Im hearing are fifty-fifty when it coems to sex ratio. Even if she was popular, youd think that usually there would be more of a certain sex. Fellow comrades that have gathered in the desert, well definitely win! Feel free to await with high expectations! (Yumir) Oooooo!! She even released her aura along with her speech, she sure is in high spirits. As a result of her speech, our surroundings got even more fired up. Even then, being an extra that was just accompanying Yumir, I was obviously being ignored, and I believe it would be better for Selene-san to act confidently since no one in our surroundings knows about her. If shes clinging on to me, it will have the opposite effect and make her stand out. I thought about getting some distance and get back in line, but with the thick wall of people there is currently that would be hard. Guess Ill have her endure for a bit longer Riizu-chan! Riizu-chan, look over here! (Riizu) On the other hand, Riizu mostly ignored the people that daringly addressed her. She only looked at those players that were annoying and insistent as if they were trash, but for some reason, the people whose faces would loosen up and left while looking satisfied were many. I dont get it. DD Oh wait, the mage started chanting the spell without saying anything in advance. I opened the menu to make sure, it was just the time for it to begin. The surrounding people were making noise and didnt notice it, but next to the mage, a spatial hole appeared and gradually grew wider. It looks like a different magic compared to what they used for the preliminaries. Once the mage finished chanting, the dark entrance stabilized and was fixed in place. Along with Yumir, the players that were making noise noticed it, and this time they started making noise for a different reason. Where is it you desire your arrival to be? (mage) Just when I realized the mage was saying something, he suddenly threw a philosophical question at us. It looked like a question thrown at whoever was at the front of the row, so theres no mistake that it was addressed to me. HmmI wonder if its fine if I reply like this? The venue for group H. (Hind) Acknowledged (mage) Ah, so that worksit was hard to understand, so I wish they would just ask normally. The mage raised his hand and the dark gate changed slightly in color, and he urged us to go into it. I said a couple words to Yumir, who was still minding the other players and had her back facing us, then I got closer to the gate with Riizu and Selene-san. We are going in first, Yumir. (Hind) Hmm? Ooh, when did this happen!? Wait, Im going with you! Dont leave me behind! (Yumir) Ah, w-wait, dont push! Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!! (Hind) Eh? Eh? (Selene) Because Yumir rushed at me, I lost my balance and since Selene-san was still clinging onto me she was dragged into the gate too. It might have been because a lot of players requested that it would be improved, the warp was instant compared to the one used for the preliminaries. The bad feeling you had when you were transported before was gone now. Our bodies have finished moving to the new area and were thrown out towards the cold and hard stone floor. We couldnt avoid falling down, but I was able to somehow protect Selene-san from the fall. It was different from that time when Miyu fell on top of me, the defensive gear demonstrated its efficacy and protected my back. Im gladthat it didnt end up with me getting dyspnea like that time. My HP did decrease, but that is a trivial issue. Just when I was going to move Selene-san out of the way and stand up, a light appeared in front of me- Gueh! (Yumir) That was close! (Hind) Following that, Yumir appeared from within and fell down, so I held Selene-san in my arms and moved out of the way in a panic. It was probably because of the weight of her armor, she raised a cloud of dust along with a loud noise. Uuwhy didnt you catch me, Hindwasnt that mean of you? (Yumir) Dont ask for the impossible! I told you before, be aware of how much your armor weights! (Hind) If I caught her, my back would have broken. I mean, she only took a bit of damage, there wasnt a need for me to catch her? To begin with, whose fault was it that we ended up moving in this way? E-eh, Hind-kunit should be about time thatuu (Selene) Hmm? Ah, Im very sorry! (Hind) Her shy voice returned me to my senses, and I noticed that I was embracing her soft body with all my might. It might have been because she was out of breath after I separated my body from hers, but Selene-san was bright red up to her ears. What are you guys doingjeez (Riizu) The gaze of Riizu, who landed calmly unlike us hurt. I looked around as if to gloss over what happened, and I saw that we were inside a large scale arena that looked like a colosseum. Chapter 73 - Start of the first match The players surrounding us also kept increasing. Before we were unable to move around anymore, we checked out something that we were interested in. That was No good, Hind! Theres an invisible wall and we cant get out! (Yumir) Just as I thoughtso they are basically saying that if you want to see the imperial capital, you should come on your own, huh? (Hind) It was to sightsee around the imperial capital by using this warp. We tried going through the entrance/exits but there was an invisible wall like when you havent defeated the area boss yet. The other players seemed to be thinking the same, a nimble looking girl close to us tried to avoid the entrance/exits and climb the wall. She did manage to climb it without issues, but once she stretched out her hand it collided with something as expected. Once our eyes met, she let out a wry smile and waved her hand, and I returned a similar reaction. Thats a shame. Even though I wanted to see things like the castle or the townscape of the imperial capital. We cant really see them from here. (Selene) If low level players stayed behind here, they would be unable to move to other places after all. It cant be helped. (Riizu) Thats why they made this areajust as Riizu has said, if you thought about it, its the natural result. (Hind) Even then, its human nature to try to do it! Doesnt it make you want to get to the other side of the stage!? (Yumir) In 3D games, there are times where you slip through the graphics and theres nothing on the other side, and you end up falling though. Theres no meaning in doing that. If you found something like that in an online game, its usually a custom to contact the developers. However, to keep challenging a difference in level that looks like you could climb but you cant and before you notice an hour has passedthat kind of experience, I believe some people can understand that kind of thing. Well, I meansince we got here early and all, lets go and secure some good seats. (Hind) Oh, arent there still empty seats at the front!? Hurry up! (Yumir) We followed after Yumir who ran off, and we hurried to the front row seats. After some time had passed since we took our seats, the arena filled up in a blink of an eye. Just as I thought, even if you can watch a recording later, there are a lot of players that want to live the experience. Seeing this many players, makes you remember even more just how popular of a game TB is. (Riizu) If it was the desert, you wouldnt get this kind of feeling at all after all (Hind) Our seating order was Yumir to my left, Riizu to my right, and Selene-san further to the right. On top of them being front seats, they were close to where the fights would be held, but there will be a barrier in place when battles are going on so there probably wont be a risk of getting harmed. We can just spectate without worries. When is the time for our match? (Yumir) If this tournament goes in order, well be the second to last. We should be able to take it easy for the time being. (Hind) Ah, theres a tournament chart in the menu. Eh (Riizu) Looking at my movements, Riizu opened her own menu window. You can look at the chart for the other venues in the tournament. Albert aniki is first on the list, and I can see names from the turtle event here and there !! Hind-san, Hind-san! (Riizu) Whats wrong, Riizu? (Hind) Look at the first match! (Riizu) First match? Ah. (Hind) I wonder why I missed it. The name of Tobi was clearly stated in the first match of group H. Having their names called, a familiar face appeared on the stage. A man completely in blackthe person who was accompanying Tobi, was an adult male holding a bow that looked to be around 30 years old. He gave the appearance of someone quite wild, he had his hair on a knot at the back, and was wearing a japanese style armor and bow. An archer, huhhis player name is Mitsuyoshi. Their opponents were a heavy warrior and a martial artist, both were male and since they were both vanguards, they were going for the strong style pattern. Whats with him, isnt he acting quite cool and staying silent? (Yumir) No, isnt he just being nervous? (Riizu) Well, as long as he keeps his mouth shut his eyes are cool, and since hes slender, his clothes stick to him. Even though that all goes to waste once he starts talking (Hind) This is about that theory we talked about, about them being more mysterious and attractive if you dont see them, right? (Selene) There were quite a lot of cheers coming from girls. Tobi, who had been indifferently going towards the starting point until now, suddenly raised a finger and pointed it towards us. I can hear you guys!! If you keep talking as you please, Im going to cry, you know!? (Tobi) Oh, so you noticed us? (Hind) I was quite aware! To begin with, arent guild members and friends displayed on the map!? (Tobi) Hahaha, isnt it fine, Tobi-kun!? Thanks to them you have relaxed, so you should thank your friend! (Mitsuyoshi) Mitsuyoshi-dono! (Tobi) Even inside this boisterous arena, surprisingly you can hear from the front row. Just as I was thinking that, along with a mechanical voice, something big was displayed within our field of view. Dressers corner (Grado empire) & Little fingers hangnail (Grado empire) vs Tobi (Sala kingdom) & Mitsuyoshi (Mahl republic). The country of origin, that is to say the country they belong to was clearly displayed. Just as I thought, isnt this a proxy war? Even though Tobi went to another country, it was still judged by where his guild was located. If you are not affiliated with any country, itll probably use the place you moved into the arena from. Once the names disappeared, the word READY was displayed and the four of them readied their weapons. Theres nothing like live coverage, huh? Thats a shame! (Yumir) Its true that it feels a bit lacking. Theres the chance that there will be starting from tomorrow (Hind) You are right. Well be in the same venue there after all. (Riizu) -Ah, it has started! (Selene) Right after it began, the heavy warrior and martial artist moved forward for a quick attack. At that time, a scene that I thought was a lie unfolded in front of my eyes. Just when I thought that Tobis image was blurring, he divided in two and one of them went to intercept the martial artist that was aiming for Mitsuyoshi-san. He multiplied!? (Yumir) Thats a evasion type light warrior skill. There are few people that use it, we also saw it once before right? (Hind) If he used it right from the start, it means that its a skill that consumes HP right? (Selene) About those HP consumption skills that Selene-san mentioned, the most famous one is the mage skill that converts HP into MP Mana Conversion. In the case of Other self technique, if I remember correctly, it spends 1/4 of your max HP, so you could say that it was risky to use it at the beginning considering they are a pair that cant heal at all. However, he controls it so well that you cant tell which one is the real one! Even though it will disappear if he gets hit once, you cant really ignore it! (Yumir) You have to manage the other self while moving yourself, so its very hard to use. But Tobi and his other self are not getting hit and hes shutting down both vanguards. There are gaps in their movements, but since they are moving constantly they are hard to spot. Its true that just as Yumir had said, its hard to tell which one is the real one like this By the way, attacks from the other self to the opponent are effective, but since its HP is set to 1, theyll disappear once they are hit by something. Tobi-kun, hes amazing! Like this, the opponents wont be able to carelessly aim for the rearguard. (Selene) He skillfully turned this battle into a stalemateah, the archer has started to act. (Hind) Along with the sound of the wind getting cut, an arrow came flying from the bow. That penetrated Tobis back, and the first moment we thought it was an accidentbut that seemed to be the other self, it pierced through the vanishing body and it was a direct hit onto the surprised martial artist. Like that, by making use of the hit stop, the successive arrows found their mark and filled the martial artist with holes. They are quite fast, that archers attacks! The way he loaded the next arrow was abnormally smooth. Looking at how they had taken the advantage now, I could feel a threat from how he easily judged that he should slay that other self that had a high cost. Seeing that, the heavy tried to go help him in a panic, but Tobi didnt let that chance slip by and chased after him. In order to get past his hit stop resistance, he made some light attacks and finished with a foot sweep, because the weight of the armor was getting in his way, the heavy warrior had a hard time getting up and was pinned down by Tobi, then he proceed to beat him up. Due to the bewildering development, the audience in the arena broke into huge cheers. Theres probably no need for me to say what happened next. The first match of group H opened with the light warrior and archer causing a disturbance with their shutout. *End of the chapter* So yeah, this will be the last chapter over at WE, the only purpose of this chapter is announcing that from now on, chapters will be released over at my old blog. The link to the table of content is as follows: Table of content I plan to explain the reasoning for it later but currently dont have the time for it, hope you have enjoyed the chapter. Chapter 74 - ARRIVAL OF THE CRIMSON EMPEROR CHAPTER 74: ARRIVAL OF THE CRIMSON EMPEROR For those that want to know why I left the group I have made a post explaining this. The link is as follows: Explanation If you are not interested at all, just enjoy the chapter and ignore this. Alright, we won! Did you see my performance, Hind-dono, Yumir-dono!? (Tobi) Oh, sweet, its so sweetthis confectionery tastes good and it has a nice fragrance and texture. It was something I made and brought here called Baklava that used pie dough, this is good. There are nuts within the many layers of dough, and the exterior is coated in syrup. Recently, Ive become obsessed with trying to cook various things in the game by bringing in real life recipes. You can actually get a real taste of the food here, but as expected, your stomach doesnt really fill up. The four of us were absorbed in chewing the food. Wait, they are relaxing over there!? What about the impressions of my match!? (Tobi) Mogogogo! Mogomogogogogo, momoh! (Yumir) Yumir-dono, I dont get what you are trying to say (Tobi) Not bad! You should just witness our next fight! Is what she said. (Hind) Hind-dono, how did you understand her!? Yumir-dono is nodding like crazy so what you said was right too! (Tobi) Somehow, at the very least they were easier to understand than those puzzling words she said during the Basilisk fight. Tobi and his partner Mitsuyoshi, descended from the arena and immediately got closer to where we were. It was the first time Selene-san met Mitsuyoshi, so she used Riizu to conceal herself. They sure are a cheerful bunch, Tobi-kuns guild members. (Mitsuyoshi) Mitsuyoshi-donothey are too cheerful, though there are times where I cant keep up with them (Tobi) Though I believe he shouldnt be the one to talk. There are times when Tobi gets pretty bad too. I offered Mitsuyoshi-san, who was next to Tobi a Baklava. Since quite a while ago, I get the feeling he wasnt really looking at us but at what I was holdingI wonder if thats the case? Ah, did my desires show up on my face? The truth is, I have quite the sweet-tooth, thank you. (Mitsuyoshi) He expressed his thanks with delight, and took a big mouthful of the Baklava. Hes eating it that delightfully, as the one who made it, it makes me really happy. I also gave Tobi a slice, and it looked like there would be leftovers so I shared them among the female crowd that were looking at us close by. It got a favorable reception when it came down to taste, and a mysterious sense of unity was born in the vicinity when everyone was eating the same thing. In an instant, the air in the area was wrapped in a sweet fragranceah, feel free to have some herb tea too. Once Tobi and Mitsuyoshi-san were done, they said that they would log out, and we watched the matches while not being very interested. If you walked around the arena selling food, wouldnt that be quite profitable? (Hind) Hind-san, there are already players taking action who had the same idea, you know? (Riizu) When I uttered that while watching the matches carefreely, Riizu pointed at the other side of the arena. Wearing similar clothes, there was a multitude of players that looked to be part of the same guild walking around selling food. I seeI mean, if its something Id be able to come up with, there would be other people that came up with the same idea. The only thing that was banned was opening gambling of your own after all, I believe this kind of thing is honest business by using the arena. While we were relaxing like that, the match we were watching was over and it was finally time for our match next. Its finally our turn! (Yumir) Im sorry to say this when you are getting fired up, but the opponents havent come you know, Yumir-san? (Riizu) Ah? What does that mean? (Yumir) When Yumir showed bewilderment, Selene-san looked at Riizus opened screen from the side. After that, she nodded in agreement and said this. Its true. They seem to have contacted the developers in advance, they have withdrawn from the tournament. (Selene) Which means (Hind) Seems like our opponents will be NPCs. The arena was getting noisier. It seemed like the players were also interested in NPCs taking part, they were eagerly waiting for them to make their entrance. There wasnt anyone absent until now from group H after all. Half of the seats in the arena were for NPC use, but I havent seen anything that stood out yet. Though we were already in the arena waiting. I wonder where theyll come fromwhen I looked around thinking that, a light shone from above the arena. The ones that came out from it Its me! Your majesty, this is the last match of today. After the end, as planned Annoying! Official business or whatever, Im telling you Ill take care of those after we return to the castle! Guess we can leave it at that. Well come tomorrow to the arena again, so there are matters we have to attend in advance. The one that shouted Its me!, had the name Grado?Ardi?Sajis displayed on top of his head. The arena froze, however, before the name the word Emperor was clearly attached. It was not an hallucination. Armor that was bright red and a black mantle with gold embroidery, red hair and thick eyebrowsfine chiseled looks, eyes with double-edged eyelidsif I had to describe my first impressions on him in one word it would be Passionate. His physique was ordinary, but maybe it was because of those features, he looked quite impressive. It seems like we have made you waitwell then, take up your weapons visitors! Ill personally be your opponent! (Sajis) Due to those words, we came to our senses and the audience suddenly got really excited. The one that came with him was a young man, seeing this situation, he gave a sigh and descended from the arena. Could it bethat the emperor plans to fight alone? Hey, Hind. We, is this us being lucky? (Yumir) No, from what the emperor said when he entered the stage, it seems like he has been going around every match where there was an absence. We are probably not the only ones in this situation. (Hind) He wasfilling the holes alone? (Yumir) Seems like it. I mean, hes standing there alone as if it were natural. (Hind) Basically it means this. The NPCs that are filling in = everyone is the emperor sponsorI wonder what are they even thinking? The developers in charge of this event. Once his majesty pulled out his golden sword, the word READY appeared. Being unable to calm down because of the unexpected event, we readied our weapons in a hurry. Dont worry, Ill hold back. Though, you are free to come at me with everything youve gothere I come! (Sajis) The red lump of mass, rushed towards us. I was an idiot for believing the words of the developers. They said they were going to be quite strong, but now I feel like sending them over 50 emails asking them about it. The emperor Grado had terrifying skills. Sword skills and offensive magic, qiqong, on top of that he even had healing magic, he could freely use any type of skills and was overpowering us. In other words We cant beat him!!! (Yumir and Hind) I shouted along with Yumir. How do they want us to beat someone like him!? He has about 10 times our HP, his MP recovers at really high speed, and now that Im looking at it, its displayed that his level is 100. Though its true that they restricted him quite a bit since hes not instantly killing us but Even if we slowly shave off his HP, hell heal instantly, it feels completely useless. His HP hasnt gone under 90% even once, so that brings us to my previous question. Whats wrong, is that all you got? If we end up like this, this would make you guys the most disappointing ones among the people Ive faced today (Sajis) You said we were a disappointment? I cant forgive that! (Yumir) Wait, Yumir! Hes taunting you, dont fall for it! (Hind) My voice failed to reach her, Yumirs HP, who put emphasis on offense went into the red zone very fast. Looking at that situation, I started chanting Revive. I lost!? (Yumir) Like that, she took a hit and became incapacitated. The emperor looked at the sky and placed his sword on his shoulders, and made a disappointed face. So it ends like this? In that case, well stop the mat- (Sajis) Is that what you were thinking? (Yumir) What!? (Sajis) The revived Yumir, pierced the emperors armor in the chest area. I used Magic up on Yumir, and immediately after that Eat this! (Yumir) Nuuh! (Sajis) She used Burst Edge when her MP was at around 80%. The magic power that ran throughout the sword exploded from within the emperors body. It was judged as a weak point, and it was a blow that was a critical hit but That was a splendid combo! (Sajis) The emperor forcibly removed Yumirs sword and his HP showed that he was at 85%. This is quite the difference in strength. To honor your efforts, Ill get a little bit serious. (Sajis) No, thanks. (Yumir and Hind) No need to be shy. (Sajis) We are not! (Yumir and Hind) It fell on deaf ears. The emperor quickly put away his sword and started chanting a spell really fast. Yumir tried to stop him, but cruelly, the spell was done casting in an instant. Seeing that, I began running towards Yumir as a follow up. Burn to ashes! Raging Flame!! (Sajis) It was released along with that oppressive scream, a gigantic fireball that could easily engulf a whole person. It was a fire?wind mage skill, among the skills you could acquire until level 40, it was the one with the highest offensive power. Seeing that we wouldnt be able to avoid it, I cast Resist up on myself and positioned myself in front of Yumir. The fireball closed in in front of me and burst. Nuooooh!! Its hoooooooooot!! (Hind) My HP was reduced to 50% in one go, but a Shinto priests magic resistance is not for show! A knights magic resistance is also top class among vanguards, but Yumir probably wont have been able to endure it since her HP was low after she was revived. I cast Area Heal immediately after the fire settled down, and healed both our HP. For some reason, the emperor was just standing there and watching us. He didnt try to disrupt my spell or chase after us, he wasnt moving at all. Once I thought that it was weird Hahahahaha! I see, I see! (Sajis) He started laughing loudly, and this time he showed an expression that he was content with the exchange of blows until now. I dont get it, but it looks like he understood something After that, he descended from the arena and said this to the young man after he called him. We are returning, Skia. (Sajis) Is it fine already? (Skia) Im satisfied. If I had to say, they might be the strongest ones today. (Sajis) Oh?Thats quite something. (Skia) I take back what I said about you being a disappointment, Hind, Yumir! I look forward to meeting you tomorrow. Keep on winning! (Sajis) After declaring that one-sidedly, the young man called Skia chanted a spell and they disappeared from our sight. The arena fell silent, and it was called that we were the victors. A WINNER! appeared and danced in front of our eyes. We heard a few scattered applause from the audience, but I believe their heart wasnt in it. We stood there unable to move from that spot, we could only stand there dumbfounded. Ah? Hah!? I dont feel like we won at all though!? Whats thiiiiissss!!? (Yumir) You said it!! Ah, I dont feel satisfied at aaaall!!! (Hind) I shouted along with Yumir, and that pointless scream resounded throughout the audience. Chapter 75 - PROGRESS IN THE TOURNAMENT AND WEIRD NAME BEING GIVEN They called it the official cheat avatar. Its already the main topic in the BBS. (Tobi) Seems like Tobi took a look at the BBS while he was logging out. He came to give us information as soon as the match was over. Riizu and Selene-san also stood up from their seats, we were currently standing on a pathway talking. Of course, the topic was about the Grado emperor we just fought. Level 100, he was able to use skills regardless of his job, and that abnormal MP recovery speed, they were all aberrant abilities after all Even that Raging Flame casting time, it was extremely short compared to when its main job, mage, used it. If this game had all chat, it would probably have turned really bad by now In the BBS, they used his strength as a base for the other NPCs, and they thought that if they couldnt defeat the demon army with such strength, just how strong are demons then? They were in such a discussion- (Tobi) But, shouldnt that emperor be a special case? Even if we say hes strong, in war, if the numbers are uneven its meaningless, isnt the premise quite weird? (Hind) Umu. If people like him were common, there would be no reason for players to exist, right!? (Yumir) I also think that way. After all, that discussion went into a weird direction (Tobi) Thinking about it, the imperial soldiers guarding the border were around level 30. The soldiers protecting the royal palace in Sala were around level 25, and the commanding officer for the imperial guards was level 35. Its a setting where it would be pretty bad if players could commit acts of violence against NPCs. In order to fight said NPCs, its made so that its only possible if both sides agree to a duel. However, the commanding officer for the mercenaries in the caravan was level 50 right, Hind-san? (Riizu) You are right. Thats how commanding officers are, so I believe they are a special case. (Hind) The funds of the national security is low in Sala, so the soldiers are not that skilled, so if we used that as a base and thought about the commanding officers in other countriesthey would be as high as level 60? If we follow this trend.(Selene) Well, at the very least, they wouldnt be level 100.(Hind) To summarize, normal people and merchants would be around level 10 and a trained soldier would be around level 30. A commanding officer would be above level 50 and when I took a look at the BBS, if I remember correctly, the general of the Beli Confederation should have been level 70. Theres no doubt that said general is also special, so it does prove further just how abnormal that emperor is though. However, the emperors behavior was special during Hind-dono and Yumir-donos match. (Tobi) Special? How so? (Hind) I took a quick look at the other matches he filled in for, but those matches all ended with one side being at a clear disadvantage. (Tobi) I mean, that should have just been a coincidence. Since Yumir was immediately revived right after she became incapacitated, he was probably slightly thrown off by that timing. He was probably planning to finish the match at that point too? (Hind) I get the feeling that it wasnt only thatno, its probably just my imagination. Forget about it. (Tobi) ? (Hind) I get the feeling it was just a matter of me being a Shinto priest and being able to revive people. However, in the end, Tobi didnt tell me what he found strange. Oh, now that we are talking about the emperor, all of us thought thatit was just a surprise prepared by the developers. It felt like staring at a huge tornado far away. GununuI want to get my revenge against that emperor one day. I feel like we completely lost. (Yumir) Even if you say that, I wonder when well get closer to level 100, though. (Riizu) We definitely cant win in our current state, after all. He didnt look like he was fighting seriously, it would be difficult even if we challenge him as five. (Hind) You are rightah, Tobi-kun! More importantly, are you fine on time? Isnt your next match soon? (Selene) Selene-san opened her menu and checked the time. She hurriedly opened the tournament bracket and amplified it so she could show it to us, the time was already Hiiiiii!? This is bad, theres only 1 minute left!! Ah, there are already 3 people standing in the arenathank you, Selene-dono! Im going! (Tobi) G-Good luck (Selene) Do your best. (Hind) Tobi started running and looked as if he would trip and fall, and he apologized to Mitsuyoshi-san, who had arrived at the arena. Seems like he managed to get there before the match started, so the match began without any issues. The venue was enveloped in cheers. Nevertheless, Im a bit tiredonce Tobis match ends, shall we log out for a bit? (Hind) I agree. Once we enter the second half of the tournament, the times we can take a break will decrease. (Yumir) So you are speaking as if you were going to win. You sure are confident. (Riizu) Of course I am! We are definitely going to win! (Yumir) C-Calm down you two. Hind-kun, I also agree. Lets take a break now that we can. (Selene) With that being said, we sat down in some empty seats that were close-by and watched Tobis and Mitsuyoshis match. Once we made sure that they were going to win, we logged out in a corner of the arena. Once we logged in again, we were able to safely advance through the rounds. The second match was against two martial artists (Fist style?Kick style), since they both could heal themselves, it turned into quite the drawn out fight We stalled until we could release Burst Edge and crushed one of them. The one left didnt give up and kept trying, but having it become a 2 on 1 we had the upper hand. It was a match that made us realize just how important that instant firepower of Burst Edge was for us to defeat someone in one strike, but lets leave that aside, its fine since we won. Be that as it may, I think its very cruel that they pointed at Yumir and called her Zombie because she would return from the dead no matter how many times you killed her and they also called me a Necromancer since I was the one resurrecting her. If they are going to give us nicknames, I would prefer if they gave us something better. Next up, the third match against a heavy warrior (Attack type) and archer (Speed type), the most popular combination in this tournament. However, since there are so many it also means that since the preliminaries we have been developing countermeasures against them Among those measures, this time we successfully decided the match with the Swift attack one. Once I charged MP, I cast the Shinto priest skill Light Enchant and gave Yumirs basic attacks light element properties. Yumir quickly got rid of the heavy warrior that kept rushing at me, and we gained control of the match before their archer managed to save up enough MP to release Arrow Rain. As a result, the match ended way sooner than the second match, we were able to get through quite easily. Its just that, the match ended without me understanding the words of the archer, who after the match started shouted Aim for the true self!. True self? Group Hs semifinals Our opponents were a mage called Zelos and a Shinto priest called Jalousie. Next to me, Yumir was concentrating on their player names. Ooh, Hind! Their names are really orange! Just as the rumor said, these guys are really PKs! (Yumir) You are right, Yumir. Its just thatthe guild name under their names is quite unusual, dont you have the feeling youve seen it somewhere? (Hind) Muh?Normie, exterminationah! (Yumir) My bad premonition has come true. Since that time I saw it in the BBS, I was wondering if the guild these masked guys belong to is the same as that PK guy from when the game launched. What was it againif I remember correctly, even though he was called Poker Face, I believe he was a player that was unable to hide his hatred. Couplescouplesbuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! !? (Yumir and Hind) When we whispered to each other quietly, the large build man with the iron mask suddenly roared. Then the man in wearing black clothes and a clown mask protested. Calm down, Jalousie. Endure until the match starts. (Zelos) But big bro! (Jalousie) Excuse me, is it fine if I ask you a question? (Hind) I dont know if my words will get through them, but since there was something that I was curious about I talked to them. Unexpectedly, the man with a clown mask took a posture as if he was saying What is it?. What is your basis for deciding if people are a couple? (Hind) As if you didnt know already. Isnt it pretty obvious that if a guy and a girl form a party together, they are all couples? (Zelos) That criteria is so loose though!? If you do it like that, arent you guys mistaking them for couples as you see it fit!? The truth is both of us- (Hind) Silence! Well turn you guys into a bloodbath soon enough, so prepare yourselves! (Zelos) Eh (Hind and Yumir) Right after they lost their temper and took up their weapons, they gave the signal for the match to start. Chapter 76 - INFINITELY REPLENISHING HP CHAPTER 76: INFINITELY REPLENISHING HP Here it is, last chapter. If you havent seen the other post, go and check the reason this is the last one. Oh and, I changed Sala country to Kingdom of Sala, not that it matters much at this point. Thanks for everything until now. The words jumped right into the middle of our field of view and the machine like voice read it out loud. Zelos (Grado Empire) & Jalousie (Grado Empire) vs Yumir (Kingdom of Sala) & Hind (Kingdom of Sala)READYFIGHT! Ill crush you!! (Jalousie) With a scream as if to erase the voices of the audience that were chanting Yumir, the vanguard Shinto priest Jalousie rushed towards me as the announcement ended. His weapon of choice was a big mace that he wielded on his right hand, for defensive gear, he had a metal armor and a shield on his left hand, quite the heavy equipment. I had already told Yumir the plan before the fight started. You understood it right, Yumir!? (Hind) Yeah! (Yumir) As usual, Yumir went to the front and I stood behind her at a reasonable distance. Yumir intercepted Jalousies charge in a flash with her longsword, and a sharp metallic sound echoed throughout the arena. Seeing this exciting clash right after the fight started, the excitement in the arena rose up. Im your opponent! (Yumir) Nugah!? Damn you, dont get in my way! (Jalousie) While confirming that she was able to stop his charge like that, I stood still at that spot and charged my MP. I glared at Zelos who was charging his MP like me on the other side of the vanguardsand it began when we both finished our chants. Shut him up, Yumir! (Hind) Crush her, Jalousie! (Zelos) Attack up and Guard down activated on Yumir at the same time. Hes a dark type mage, so him using a debuff was something I already took into consideration. Debuffs are not a status ailment so its not possible to recover from it with Recover, but its possible to erase them with Dispel. However, since what he used was Guard down lets ignore it, it doesnt matter. Lets recover more MP and prepare for the next move. Nuoh, Im automatically in a state of Act of Desperation!? However, I can use Act of Desperation on top of it! Uooooooooooooh!! (Yumir) Guh, gah! Nuuh, big bro! Use attack down first! This girl, her offensive power is on par with a heavy warrior! At this rate Ill get hit and lose! (Jalousie) Calm down! Having both Act of Desperation and Guard down, her current physical defense is low! In that case, I stop her movements! (Zelos) Zelos used Slow on Yumir. With the debuff, Yumirs movements were about 2/3 slower. My body feels heavy! Ah, ah, and the damage I took from a single hit was really high!? (Yumir) Gahahaha! I can win, I can win like this! I can do it, big bro! (Jalousie) Those two at the front are noisyin her current state, with both Act of Desperation and Guard down, her defense is at 30%. If it wasnt for the defensive gear that Selene-san made, Yumir would have already died. However I did nothing, and patiently kept charging up my MP until it was close to full. With that, I should have way more MP than Zelos, who had used Slow. Jalousie had already used a vanguard Shinto priest skill called Holy Shield, that increased both physical and magical resistances, so it was quite hard to shave off his HP. On the other hand, I compensated for it quite a bit with the skills Guard Up and Resist up that only I could use, so it will take quite a while until she becomes incapacitated. Their strategy is to have the vanguard Shinto priest sticking close to the opponent and stacking debuffs on them, while the way they do it is different, the way they make it a battle of endurance is similar to ours. Therefore, disrupting the opponents pace is key to deciding victory or defeat here. Yumirs HP drastically decreased and when Zelos started chanting a spell I used Shining. -Tsk! Such impertinence! (Zelos) The damage was minuscule, but I was successful in stopping his actions. Then I started casting Revive. While I was casting it, Yumir and Jalousie continued exchanging blows, they continued moving in the space between me and Zelos. That chant is longis it a big spell!? Jalousie, get out of the way! -Take this! (Zelos) In an act of desperation, he shot the elementary spell with a short cast time Fire Ball towards me, but with both of them in the way, his aim was shallow. I easily dodged it and cast the Revive I finished chanting- Supeh!? (Yumir) HP 0, I used it on Yumir, whose body was falling from being hit by the maces swing. Once I did, she didnt fall on top of the stage, she stood firm on the ground with one leg and immediately counter attacked. The heaviness is goneTaah! (Yumir) Since she became incapacitated, the buffs and debuffs on Yumir were all gone. Jalousie was unable to deal with the abrupt resurrection and change in speed, and took the swift attack directly. Because of that, Jalousies HP was at 60%, however, he wasnt given the chance to heal due to Yumirs relentless attacks. Nuah!? W-Wait, Im pretty sure her HP had hit 0? Big bro, whats going on!? Wasnt it going to be fine even if we didnt deal with the rear guard as long as we shut down the vanguard and interrupted the casting from the rearguard!? This is different from what you told me! (Jalousie) I-Impossibleyou telling mehe revived her as she died? Its even faster than in the previous fights too? Forfor something like this to (Zelos) B-Big bro? (Jalousie) Zelos seems to be confused, but the truth is, I was hurrying to make it barely in time. I thought I casted it too earlyhowever, I definitely cant let that show on my face. In fact, Ill act calm and smile. If they keep charging towards us in a hurry, itll turn into our advantage. -Guh, its definitely just a fluke! Jalousie, we are going to destroy them again! (Zelos) Y-Yeah! (Jalousie) The casting time for Revive is long. Its true that usually if you defeat the vanguard, youd be able to crush the rearguard easily, however that doesnt matter if you predict the time they die and cast it on them. Its true that if you cast it too early, it would definitely lead to your defeat, but thats another case. Anyway, a single Shinto priest cant do anything, so its enough to target them while barely making it in time. In the interval they were focusing their attacks on Yumir again, I first used Healing on Yumir. Furthermore, I erased the CD on Revive with Quick, after that, I used Healing again since it has a short CD to heal Yumirs HP a bit more. I started chanting the spell before Yumir got incapatitated due to her tendency for kamikaze attacks to shave off Jalousies HP. Shes filled with debuffs, so its about time she reaches her limit. I feel bad for Yumir, but its easier for me to have her die to erase the debuffs. I dodged the Darkness Ball that was trying to disturb my casting and then A second time!? (Jalousie) Hey, stay there! (Yumir) This time, she was revived before she fell over. Im doing really well in this match. Im activating Revive in a far more timely manner than usual. -Hah!? Im not dead, Im not dead!? This time didnt count! (Yumir) No, you died you know? You were counting them? (Hind) Seeing that, the duo of Zelos and Jalousie completely lost their calm. And the audience excitedly cheered each time she revived. Isnt the timing at which they cheer weird? N-No way, for this toa-aim for the guy! We are aiming for the guy first! Do it as if your life depended on it, Jalousie! That is our only chance at winning! (Zelos) Got it, big bro! Here I goooooooooo!! (Jalousie) -You think Ill let you? (Yumir) Seeing Yumir intercept him that fast, I cast Healing Plus. It takes longer than Healing, but it takes way less time than Revive. The HP of Yumir, who was facing Jalousie, was dramatically healed. Wha!? -D-Damn yooooooooooouuuuuuu!! (Jalousie) !! (Yumir) Seeing that, Jalousie grew irritated and swung the mace with all his might. Yumir was blown away due to the difference in body weight and strength, taking advantage of that gap, Jalousie used Healing on himself to heal a small amount of his own HP. As expected of someone that had kept winning until now, it seems like they didnt win by luck. Counting this healing, Jalousies HP is about 40% left. Nuaaaaaaah! (Jalousie) Then, he came this way. I calmly took some distance- Hind, a spell is coming! (Yumir) What!? (Hind) Slow should still be on CD. If its an offensive spell, Jalousie and me are too close though The spell Zelos chose was Hahahaha!! I wont let you get away! (Zelos) It was the offensive spell Graviton Wave that engulfed everyone but him. It covered a wide range and produced high gravity, our bodies felt heavier and our HP was slowly shaved off. As if he was used to being inside it, Jalousie calmly approached me while taking damage. I see, when they are pressured, they do this to disrupt the opponents pace and win. This shows the magical resistance of a Shinto priest, even if Jalousie fights under this gravity, he wont take much damage. I believe its a good combination attack. In fact, right now, it looks like I wont be able to escape his mace. However, my eyes already have seen the figure behind Jalousie that was swinging around. -Oh, its another gravity spell! However, this is far better than being afflicted with Slow! (Yumir) Having experienced Riizus Graviton Wave, Yumir caught up to Jalousie and cut at his back. It being a strong attack, he entered a long hit stop state, she stopped Jalousie a few moments before Jalousie was going to swing his mace at me. Casting a spell while taking damage under this gravity wave would be impossible anyways. In that case, I swung my staff with all my body weight towards the target in front of me. He was able to block it with his shield, but Jalousie lost his balance Hahahaha!! You are still like a fish on the chopping board! (Yumir) From time to time, you sure do talk like vulgar villainwell, you are correct in this situation though. (Hind) Let me go! Get away from meeeeee!! Big broooooo!! (Jalousie) Yumir stepped on the right arm that was holding the mace and she smiled as she was releasing her aura. I put my body weight on top of the shield that was being held by his left arm, so even if this guy is strong, he probably wont be able to shake free from the body weight of two people. With this our victory should be certain, it would also be fine if they surrendered. Otherwise Nuh? My body feels lighter. (Yumir) Yup, it seems like the spell has worn off. (Hind) The effect of Graviton Wave is also gone. Even if Zelos doesnt give up and uses Darkness Ball, we will be able to take it on without breaking our stance. With our current HP it will certainly not be fatal, so even if we are pulled in a bit, as long as we dont let Jalousie break free it will be fine. As a result, as expected our HP didnt even decrease by 30% and the dark orbs suction quietly died down. While looking at Zelos, who was frantically charging his MP, I released Area Heal at our feet. Among the multitude of spells, healing magic has the special trait of only affecting your allies. Because of that, Jalousie who was being stepped on by us wasnt healed and we recovered to full HP due to the white light. Zelos expression was dyed in despair. Dont give up big bro! Bring down the iron hammer down on these normies! I cant forgive a couple that has such good coordinatioooooon!! Nuaaaaaaaaah! I want to be popular toooooooooooooo!! (Jalousie) I told you we are not a couple!! (Hind and Yumir) Guh! Gah! Gueh!? -Gah (Jalousie) Jalousieeeeeeee!? (Zelos) Jalousie became incapacitated, our HP and MP was back to full and me stood so that Zelos was between us. I believe he would surrender in this situation? Or that was what I thought but You guys, go and explodeeeeeeeeee!! Uoooooooooooooooooo!! (Zelos) Since he brandished his staff to face us as he shouted, Yumir mercilessly struck him down in a single blow with Burst Edge. Zelos was blown away to the far end of the stage due to the explosion of magic power and fell down. Chapter 77 - Group H?Finals Hi there, Im back from the dead (kind of). Hope that everyone is doing well during these times. While I cant say Ill be here to stay or Ill start updating frequently again, I might start translating a bit during my free time again. That being the case, dont expect me to have lots of chapters prepared or go at a fast pace. There wont be a schedule or anything either. Not really sure how many would pick up the series again or if theres even any still around. Just wanted to do something to take my mind off things while providing something for people to read again. The chapters will come as they are translated and my former editor Weasalopes is back to his editing role for the series. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter and hopefully Ill be back soon with the next chapter. Oh, I lost the wordpress plan I used to have back then, so expect ads to pop up in the blog, those are outside my power and I dont get any income from them. Feel free to deal with them however you see fit. Theres also the fact that the layout and such was changed without me knowing so Im not sure if itll cause issues on your devices. And then, in the blink of an eye it was time for the last battle of group H. Both of us managed to win until now, our opponent was You came as expectedTobi! I was waiting for you! (Yumir) Yumir pointed at Tobi and Mitsuyoshi-san, who appeared from the other side of the stage while wearing a stiff expression. Our opponents for the finals were two men wearing similar japanese style equipment. A light warrior (evasion type) and an archer (rapid-fire type). Since you completely crushed your first opponents like that, I had the feeling it was going to end like this. (Hind) Fufufuthe same goes for both of you, havent you trained quite well during the time I havent seen you? My heart cant stop throbbing right now! (Tobi) Our opponent Tobi, calmly walked toward us while showing a smile. Yumir lowered her arm, then crossed both of her arms and showed a fearless smile. However, I, I cant seem to stand this kind of weird mood For some reason, Im getting goose bumps, in a bad way. Throbbing? Thats no good, you cant go around playing games all night and neglecting your health. (Hind) Eh? Ah, sorry, Ill be more carefulwait, Hind-dono!? Why did this serious mood last less than 5 seconds!? I dont have palpitations! Read the mood! (Tobi) ..kuh, Hahahahahaha! (Mitsuyoshi) I mean, that kind of thing is kinda creepy and embarrassing you know. If you are going to do that, leave me out of it. Saying that, Tobi and Yumir said Eeeh while looking at me with displeased faces. Mitsuyoshi-san burst out laughing at our idiotic back and forth. After laughing for a while, he wiped the tears at the edges of his eyes and said this. Fuh. But its like Hind-kun said. While what you say before the match wont get left behind in the replay, if you are not careful and talk during the match, itll get included in the recording. (Mitsuyoshi) No! I, I was creating this dark history on purpose! Ill act in an embarrassing way, then we can look back on it and laugh it out loud! (Yumir) Yumir-chan, you were doing it on purpose huhgood gracious, consider me impressed. (Mitsuyoshi) Tobi, who was next to Mitsuyoshi-san screamed Eh, really!? Is this sort of thing embarrassing!?, but lets ignore it. Even though we are all here already, the waiting time is so longif its like this, I guess theres still time for idle talk. I want to get a grasp of our opponent Mitsuyoshi-sans personality, so Ill bring up a suitable topic of conversation myself. Now that I think about it, Mitsuyoshi-sans player name, why did you choose it? Its probably not your real name right? (Hind) Hmm? Lets seelike Tobi-kun, I took it from a warring states military commander, he was also someone that used a bow. Hes someone that only those that are knowledgeable will know, so if you dont know about him its normal. (Mitsuyohi) No, Mitsuyoshi-dono. If its Hind-dono, hell probably know who he is you know? (Tobi) A warring states military commander and Mitsuyoshi huh? YupMitsuyoshibowin that case, its probably that guy. Even during the times that guns were getting popular, that long lived military commander kept using a bow until the end. Yup, its Oshima Mitsuyoshi right? Am I wrong? (Hind) Ooohhh!! You are amazing Hind-kun, you are correct! (Mitsuyoshi) After showing a surprised face because of my answer, Mitsuyoshi excitedly struck my back. However, he sure took the name from quite the understated military commander As expected of Hind-dono. Fighting in the battle of Sekigahara at the age of 93, if that was true, it would be quite the exciting episode right!? (Tobi) Leaving the matter of if that anecdote is true or not aside, theres no doubt that he was a person that rose in the world as an archer. (Hind) Even among archers from the past, people are usually attracted to more flashy ones like Nasu no Yoichi and Minamoto no Tametomo. Once you get to this age, instead of those, you tend to get charmed by powerful old men instead. It was like that for me. (Mitsuyoshi) Muh? But Mittchi, I think you still look quite young? (Yumir) Mitsuyoshi paid no attention to the name Mittchi that Yumir gave him and asked us How old do I look to you?. I honestly replied with around 30. Yumir gave a similar answer, but the surprising words I wont say the exact age, but Im over 50 years old. came out of his mouth. He altered his appearance to look younger huhhe has the default hairstyle in black and there are few wrinkles in his face. Is the main factor that he looks young that macho-like body type? Hes not showing stuff like his abdomen either. Hes like Hinds mom then? Young young. (Yumir) No, that personisnt she a genuine witch? Theres no doubt about it. (Tobi) Dont go talking about other peoples mothers like they were monsters. If she catches wind of this, you are going to get strangled again, you know? (Hind) Oh, you three know each other in real life? That kind of thing is nice. In my student days (Mitsuyoshi) Like that, our conversation heated up. Mitsuyoshis way of speaking broke up but there was this calmness befitting someone his age, he was someone fun to speak to. If its like this, shaking up his mental state mid match wont be a possible strategy huh While receiving gazes from the audience that were saying Why are these guys acting all calm in there?, we waited for the start signal on top of the stage. A few minutes after the match startedC Seiyah! (Yumir) Hahaha! You are not hitting me! (Tobi) Nugah! So noisy, you are so annoying! (Yumir) Tobi was toying around with us while dodging with swift movements and we were currently struggling. To think having someone go around you would be this annoying, besides, for him to be this troublesome Yumirs attacks didnt land, and while Tobi didnt deal much damage with his dual blades, the damage kept accumulating. -I got you! Nuoh!? (Yumir) Just when she finally caught him and cut his throat, the body started blurring and the damage was nullified. Too bad, that was a cicada shell. (Tobi) Thats unfair! (Yumir) Its not unfair! Its a legitimate action for a ninja like me! (Tobi) While they were having an argument like elementary schoolers However, is that guy really part of the go-home club? His swift and splendid movements made you doubt that. Like dodging the sword with a backflip, he looked like a gymnastics athlete or some ninja straight out from a novel. Just when I said that as I watched them -Wha!? (Hind) At the time I stopped right behind Yumir to charge my MP, an arrow flew straight by my side. This happened when I became distracted for just a split second. On top of having high accuracy, it was scary how each arrow carried considerable power for a rapid-fire type. I switched places and started charging up again from a place where Mitsuyoshi-san would find Yumir annoying. Yumir shouldnt take much damage even if she takes a couple arrows, so Ive got no choice but to slowly charge up my MP while having her cover me. Because of that, we had no choice but to stay close to each other. If I let my guard down, Tobi would also be able to get in range to hit me, so I was forced to play really defensively. Hind-san, hang in there! (Riizu) Y-Yumir-san too, do your best! (Selene) I hear Riizu and Selene-san cheering for us, but I have no leeway to reply to them. Weve been at a disadvantage from the start until this pointhow are we supposed to turn this situation around? Theres no meaning behind their cheers, I believe its pretty clear what our situation is like right now. Mitsuyoshi-san is clearly aiming to obstruct me, so thinking about the current MP amount I have, the best I can do right now is to cast a Healing since it doesnt cost much towards Yumir. Or, since both of their attacks are physical types, I could use the similarly low cost Guard up on both me and Yumir. Yumirs MP is in a good condition since she has been bombarded by attacks, however, unlike our usual fights where she can just go on a suicide attack while having me healing her, this time she has to be careful. Our battle strategy is based on using a revive or two, so our current situation is quite painful. Im begging you, please let me charge up my MP!! Is the kind of honest plea Id like to scream. However, on top of them not having many gaps, their decision making is really fast, they are strong without any doubt. Their aim is probably Tobi-kun, stand back! Ill finish it with this! (Mitsuyoshi) Fuh, seems like this is our win! Farewell! (Tobi) !! This is bad, Yumir! Catch Tobi! (Hind) Kuh! (Yumir) Yumirs sword was unable to reach him and Tobi took a great distance from us. The consideration of friendly fire disappeared and Mitsuyoshis arrow was nocked towards the heavens. -Arrow rain is coming! Chapter 78 - Reverse aggression and outcome of the match Its nice to see some familiar faces in the comment section right after uploading the first chapter in months. Anyway, heres another chapter for today, enjoy. I dont have any other options than this one at this point! When Tobi started retreating I had already assumed the worst and started casting the spell, so I should probably make it in time! Or rather, please let me make it in time, if I dont, itll be over for us! Yumir started shouting while flustered. Hind! (Yumir) Cover your head that is treated as a vital part of the body with your arms, then dont take a single step! The arrows will rain down randomly, so its more dangerous if you move! (Hind) Isnt there any other option!? (Yumir) None! Pray! (Hind) The gem on the staff increased in brightness. When the crimson arrow that Mitsuyoshi-san nocked reached the heavenscountless arrows rained down on us. Then, just before the first arrow hit, the light from the staff was released and dropped towards the ground. Nuaaaaaaaaaah!! (Yumir) Adadadada!!? It huuuuuuuuuurts!! (Hind) My vision kept flickering. The arrow effects were relentless and the sound effects buzzed incessantly in my earlobes. I cant get used to this no matter how many times Ive taken it! A few people from the audience that were cheering for us covering their faces entered my field of view, but thats understandable. With the current game balance, other than a heavy warrior with good equipment would usually get incapacitated by Arrow Rain. However, we still hadnt died. Seems like I made it somehow From under our feet, a soft white light was being released upwards, in the opposite direction of the Arrow Rain. This light that came from Area Heal had made it so that we narrowly escaped death right now. If I were to say that the timing in which I released was barely in time, the amount of MP needed to release it was also barely enough. When it comes to the damage and healing, our HP had kept going up and down repeatedly, but it seems like the amount of HP healed was higher. Though each time my HP turned red which meant that I was barely alive, I lost a couple years of my life span. DDDDDDDD!DDDDDD!! Then, in the few seconds until Arrow Rain was over, I quickly gave Yumir some instructions. Im not sure if she got what I told her right with all the sound effects of the arrows, but Yumirs eyes were filled with fighting spirit and she nodded. Just when there were only a few moments left on Area Heal, Arrow Rain ended up finishing first. The next moment- I saw it coming! (Yumir) Yumir sent the incoming arrow flying with her gauntlet. This Area Heal shouldnt have been within their calculations, but Mitsuyoshi-san nocked another arrow without showing signs of agitation. As expected, hes calm. However, within their duo, Tobi who saw us survive the Arrow Rain was left speechless. Sorry butI dont plan to let this chance get away. Run! (Hind) Oooooooooooooh!! (Yumir) The moment after Area Heal was gone, Yumir started running while releasing sparks from her aura. After being bombarded by Arrow Rain, Yumirs MP was now full and her HP was recovered to around 60% due to Area Heal. The moment she reached the place they were at, it wasnt Tobibut Mitsuyoshi-san who she released a Slash at. Unfortunately he dodged it, but having his expression warped, Mitsuyoshi-san took a big back step and she followed after him. I had followed after Yumir and hit Tobi, who tried to follow up in a panic, with all my strength on the side of his face with my staff. -Kh!? (Tobi) His slender body fell over sideways, using the momentum created by him rolling over, he placed a hand on top of the stage and stood up. Hes like an acrobat However, I kept blocking his path and wielded my staff. Well then, take up your weapons Tobi. Im your opponent. (Hind) H-Hind-dono! (Tobi) Even though he was still agitated, Tobi gave up on providing assistance to Mitsuyoshi-san and took up his dual blades. The physical attack of Shinto priests other than the vanguard type is low. In terms of rankings, they are second from below right after mages. Realistically speaking, its not something youd make use of. However, at the same time, among the vanguards physical defense, light warriors are the worst. Their endurance is just slightly above that of archers which are rear guards. Therefore, I can deal some damage even with attacks from my staff. However, thats if I manage to land a hit. Kuh! Why, why am I unable to dodge!? Even though my attacks are not finding their mark!? (Tobi) You dont get it? (Hind) I took down Tobis HP, which was full to around 60% Its not like I used a special skill and its not like I actually awakened to some godly reaction speeds either. This is Ouch! My lower leg! My lower leg!! (Tobi) Thisis just reading your opponent! (Hind) Thats why in this scenario, theres no need for superior reflexes. If you know how your opponent is going to move next, no matter how fast Tobi is going to move, theres no need for instant reactions and its possible to keep up with him. The habits I saw Tobi have from behind, his choice of skills, the direction he dodges, the timing at which he switches from offense to defenseI wielded my staff while remembering those things. The right one is a feint, immediately after that, hell go for the kill with his left, while dodging those dual blades, I thrust my staff through a small gap! Nuah!? Wait, now that I think about it, I never managed to win against you during Kendo lessons! Why didnt I remember that since we are inside a VR game! (Tobi) Its too late even if you remember that now, you idiot! (Hind) This is a strategy that only works because my opponent is Tobi, someone I know really well. If that wasnt the case, I would have become incapacitated already. Kuh, I have no other choice in that case! Ill make this the last bout! (Tobi) His body started shining and Tobis HP decreased in an instant. At the same time it split into two, one of them headed towards Yumir, who was chasing Mitsuyoshi-san. That idiot (Hind) While confirming that this was our victory, I felt a tinge of loneliness because of Tobis actions. This is like going towards his own defeat. Besides, this is the first time Ive seen him fight with eyes so devoid of life, no matter how well he controls it, I know without a doubt that the Thing in front of me, is nothing more than a fake. While dodging its attack, I hit the body with my staff and it vanished easily. Once he saw that happen, Tobi took a glance bitterly, shook his head and switched to running with all his might. He went your way, Yumir! (Hind) Immediately after, the main body went after Yumir, but since I called it out, the surprise attack ended up in failure. Yumirs sword, who turned around, and Tobis blade clashed and sparks scattered. Nuoh!? Dont get in my way, Tobi! (Yumir) I wont let you defeat Mitsuyoshi-dono! Not yet, its not over yet! (Tobi) Tobi-kun, why did you come!? Go back, Im fine over here! (Mitsuyoshi) I have around 40% HP remaining and since rear guards dont obtain MP while being attacked I didnt have any other choice but to regenerate it naturally, so my current MP was really low. Luckily, I didnt get hit by Tobi even once, but that was the result of frantically dodging while cold sweat ran down my body. Thats just how much of a disadvantage Shinto priests have in a direct confrontation. If Tobi had attacked me more persistently or I somehow ended up getting hit by a skilltheres the possibility that I would have been unable to deal with it and end up getting defeated. The best chance might have been if he had attacked along with the copy from both sides at the same time? If I were to be attacked like that, I can say with confidence that Id had ended up flustered. However, even if it didnt end up like that because he became flustered, Tobis error of judgement proved to be fatal. Whether to ignore me from the beginning and join up with his partner or believe in Mitsuyoshi-san and try to defeat me as soon as possibleI believe that he should have focused on any of those. Doing things half bakedly and having his and his partners HP decrease for nothing meant that there was no way for Tobi to win anymore. No longer being targeted, I charged up just the minimum amount of MP needed and cast Healing?Plus on Yumir. Ohh, my HP! Alriiiiight! This is the end! (Yumir) Ah, as I though, we should have aimed for the True Selfsince that point where we failed to kill Hind-kun, we were alreadygahah! (Mitsuyoshi) D-Damn it! Mitsuyoshi-dono!! (Tobi) Having replenished plenty of her HP, Yumir forcefully broke through Tobi and finished up Mitsuyoshi-san with a Heavy Slash. I think he did well to last that long, but there is no way for an archer to win against a knight in close combat. The audience heated up and Tobis dual blades fell powerlessly from the stage. Chapter 79 - Morning in the Kishikami household?Rest day edition When I noticed the sunlight piercing my eyes, I was awoken from my sleep by the presence of someone moving around. Within my blurred vision, I checked the clock on the wall and noticed that I had overslept a fair bit. However, no one is going out today in the morning soguess theyll forgive me for oversleeping a bit. I pulled up my upper body and absentmindedly looked around the room and locked eyes with a stiffened Rise, who was close to my bed. Ah (Rise) What are youdoing? Rise (Wataru) So you woke up, nii-santhats a shame. I still only had taken a few (Rise) Judging from her words, it doesnt seem like she came here to wake me up? What was she doing with that smartphone? But this is quite unusual, nii-san. For you to take it this easy in the morning. (Rise) Ah, welllast nights tournament took quite the long time after all. It was fun, but it was quite tiring. (Wataru) Thats a good thing. Whenever you are tired, leave the housework to us and just rest, we wouldnt mind you just playing around you know? (Rise) That makes me happy and grateful, but I cant dohmm? Us? (Wataru) Thats right. Akeno-san made breakfast this morning. Shes waiting for us, so lets go downstairs. (Rise) Eh, really? For mom to cook, I wonder how many years its been since the last time she did? When I told Rise to go ahead and tried to take off my pajamas- Excuse me, Rise-san? (Wataru) What is it? Nii-san. (Rise) I mean, I, Im about to change my clothes. Id honestly appreciate if you left the room. (Wataru) Dont mind me. Ill wait for you right here. (Rise) Yup, if you were to say that there was no need to mind since we are siblings Id understand and actually acceptbut when you are looking at me with those bloodshot eyes fully opened, its kind of (Wataru) Dont mind it! Aah, what are you doing!? Please, let go of me! No, in fact, lets stay like this and dont let go! (Rise) I held Rise, who was showing an iron will and refusing to move, up in my arms and let her down outside the room. At times like these, she cant really fight back because of her light body. Having Rise scratching the door and murmuring curses is scary, so lets change fast and go get some breakfast. The smell of toast and the fragrance of coffee filled the living room. While humming inside the kitchen, her tied up hair was swaying around because of her good mood. Then, she probably heard the sound of our footsteps and she turned around to smile at us. Good morning, Wataru. (Akeno) Good morning, mom. I heard you made breakfast? (Wataru) Its only easy stuff, so its not bad once in a while. However, Wataru, sorry for saying this as soon as you woke up, but dont you think that its kind of lacking? (Akeno) Hmm? Eh (Wataru) Once I looked over at the table she was pointing at, I saw toast and ham and eggs, and boiled broccoli was used as a garnish. Its lacking in vegetables but soup is a bitif I were to make that it would take too much time. In that case, lets see Should I make some vegetable juice? I get the feeling theres a lack of vegetables. (Wataru) Oh, that would be nice. Rise-chan, what flavor do you want? (Akeno) While saying that, mom stroked Rises head while wearing a love-struck expression. This is not something that just started happening, it seems like she wanted a daughter since she remarried, shes been like that since Rise came to this house. It seems like they are going to go shopping together today, so I guess the reason shes wearing her ring and has been in a good mood since this morning is that. Rise didnt show any signs of hating it and just accepted it, so the relationships within our family are good. In that case, I would like to drink some orange juice. If I remember correctly, there was still some left right? (Rise) Yes there is. In that case, lets make something simple and add some carrots into it. (Akeno) Since the rest of the food is already made, I peeled them swiftly and cut them in suitable sizes. I added some water in the mixer and mixed them along with some lemon and it was done. Since the oranges and carrots were bought at the same time and were from the same brand and sweet, even if we didnt add anything else, itll taste good like this. I poured the contents into three cups and a fresh fragrance was added to the dining table Thank you for the meal. We clasped our hands. As expected, a meal made by another person is a completely different thing. Even if it was something really simple, I was really happy to have eaten something made by mom since it had been a while. Once I honestly told her that, she gave me this reply while looking really happy. But, since Wataru is way better at cooking than me already, theres no need for mom to cook outside of emergencies, right? (Akeno) Well, I cant really force you since you are busy with work. Dont you feel youd like to make something to your own tastes rather than eating my food all the time? (Wataru) Ahahahaha! (Akeno) Whats with that laugh? (Wataru) Yup, you are faster than the current holder of the world record for short distance running! It feels like you said that to me. Theres no such thing, wanting to make something while knowing youd lose. (Akeno) There she goes again with the hard to understand examples Is shepraising me? While drinking Masters Blend coffee, mom looked at my complex expression and laughed even more. The one from a while ago, what was it again? That thing with lots of ingredients that looked like a tomato risotto (Akeno) You mean the Tagen? Nii-san, you made that very carefully with an earthenware pot right? (Rise) Yeah that one. You can make delicious food that I dont know about, your bentos are always lovely and delicious, you are a son Im proud of. Its a bit awkward when new people at work that dont know about that ask me for the recipes for the side dishes thoughbut, I wonder if its unusual for a mother to feel this at ease even if she doesnt do the housework at all? (Akeno) Ah, you are praising me far too much. Im starting to get itchy so please stop. (Wataru) When it comes to things like this, you are exactly like Mizuhito-san (Akeno) Mizuhito is the name of my real father, who died when I was just 5 years old. By the way, Rises father is a man called Satoru-san, when I was in middle school he They both died from illness at a young age, in a way, you could say that mom had really bad luck. Though she does have this powerful aura for not being bothered by such a murky past and her appearance is really young. When I asked her if she was going to remarry again she replied with A third time is a bit. So, are you both going after taking a break? What about lunch? (Wataru) For lunch well just eat wherever. Wataru, you are not coming with us right? (Akeno) Yeah, Miyu and Shuuhei said that theyd come over. For lunch Ill just prepare something for us. (Wataru) Muhits a shame that we wont go with nii-san (Rise) Mom hugged Rise, who had grown sullen, to console her. When looking at them from the side like this, even if they are not related by blood, it wouldnt be weird for people to mistake them for sisters that hadnt seen each other for years. Maybe its because theyve been living together, Rises aura vaguely resembles that of mom. Thats quite mysterious Its fine, Rise-chan. Wataru belongs to you at night, you can have him spoil you lots you know? (Akeno) Eh? Wait a moment, what are you going about on your own- (Wataru) Really? Akeno-san. in that case, can I sleep with nii-san tonight? (Rise) Of course! (Akeno) Can I marry him? (Rise) Sure! That way, there wouldnt be a need for you to wed into another family! Wataru, while you are at it, take Miyu as your wife too! Shes such a nice girl after all! (Akeno) Why would I do that!? What you are saying is so wrong that I dont know where to begin! Besides, dont go treating the important only daughter of another family as if she was an extra! (Wataru) This woman, isnt she saying really unreasonable things because shesimply wholeheartedly trusts her daughter to do whatever she wants? Where do I get a say in this? As her real son, Im slightly anxious if she loves me or not, this was an event that happened that morning. Chapter 80 - Towards the Finals After both of them left, I moved around cleaning the house and doing the laundry. Since there was time, after cleaning the floor, I waxed it. Following that, I started polishing the windows in succession from the second floor towards the first one. Finally, I stepped into the garden and polished the biggest window, which was that of the living room, it ended in a state where it reflected the sunlight and my image was reflected on it. Yup, its beautifuldue to the sense of accomplishment, I unconsciously started smiling. Fufufu. (Wataru) Ooh, Wataru is laughing alonethats so weird (Miyu) What do you mean by weird!? Leave me alone! (Wataru) Once I saw the girl with long hair reflected in the glass, I turned around while shouting. There I saw Miyu looking at me from the other side of the fence. Since Miyu is already here, does it mean its close to noon? Seems like I got too absorbed in it and ended up working for far too long. Shuuhei is still not here butoh, nice timing, that person over there is Hey there. I came over (Shuuhei) Oh, Shuuheiwait, what happened to you!? Youve got huge dark circles under your eyes! (Wataru) Umu, its true that your face looks terrible (Miyu) Ah, you mean this? For the time being, is it ok if I go in? (Shuuhei) Along with Shuuhei, who was in an unusual broken state, we both entered the house. In other words, its like that. Since you were so frustrated that you lost to us, you ended up with a lack of sleep- (Miyu) After looking at the replay of that match countless timeswell, you can see where this is going though. (Shuuhei) Yup. After that, youd want to look at the other fights in the tournament or take a look at the BBS (Wataru) Just from our conversation, it seems like it ended up in an all nighter for him. While we were preparing lunch, Shuuhei was telling us his circumstances while lying limply on the sofa. Since its come down to this, Ill tell you guys about all the useful information I gathered, so go make a strategy for the tournament. If you do that, there will be meaning in me staying up all nightufufu (Shuuhei) You, you are acting all weird you know? Are you really ok? (Wataru) Hes someone that has pulled an all nighter after all. We have no choice but to ignore it, Wataru (Miyu) For the time being, lets finish making lunch. With this we have finished placing the plates on the table, so I called Shuuhei and we all sat down. Todays lunch menu is salmon cream pasta. Shuuhei and I had a normal portion in front of us, only Miyus was So good!! *slurp slurp* (Miyu) Dont slurp the pasta. Use the fork properly. (Wataru) Youd get full just from looking at herwait, even then, Ill eat my own portion! Miyucchi, you are being too greedy!! (Shuuhei) She had three large servings for herself. After finishing those servings, Miyu drank the after meal oolong tea and looked satisfied. I always thought this, but where do all those nutrients go? Why does she not put on any weight even when she eats this much? I cant understand it. After that, probably because he felt sleepy after being full, Shuuhei was sitting down more unsteadily than before. Shuuhei, how about you dont force yourself and get some sleep? You can go ahead and use the sofa. Ill even lend you a blanket. (Wataru) I appreciate it. However, if I were to sleep now, I feel like I wouldnt be able to sleep at night (Shuuhei) In that case, just for a short whileits fine even if you just sleep for around 15 minutes. Drink some coffee before that. (Wataru) Ill do just that, after saying that, Shuuhei obediently drank down the coffee I prepared for him. However, Miyu tilted her neck after seeing the coffee I prepared for him. Hmm? Wataru, wouldnt he become unable to sleep because of the caffeine? (Miyu) Itll take time for him to absorb it so itll be fine. Itll start taking effect after he wakes up and itll feel as if he has slept soundly. (Hind) It seems like it takes from 15-30 minutes for your blood to absorb the caffeine. Thats why its the best thing to drink before you take a nap when you feel really sleepy, since in those cases youd end up even more tired. After glancing at Shuuhei, who had lied down on the sofa, we killed some time. Connected to the converter, a retro game was forcibly connected to the new display and I was having a competition repeatedly with Miyu in my own room. Its not like Im really particular about it, but when we play retro games, most of the time we use an actual console. Even if they are mementos, rather than leave them intact for a long time, I believe my dad would be happy that they are being used like this. Well, theres also the fact that Id need to exchange the batteries for the type of games that require saving. There, a 13 chain. (Wataru) Gyaaaaaaaaaa!! You fiend!! (Miyu) The game we are playing right now is one of those tetris-type games. Its the type where you move downward floating blocks, so if you place them well, you can erase them with a chain. If you get a chain, its possible to send a big amount of blocks towards your opponent. The one I chose was Miyu, so with this You are so weak, youwhy didnt you choose an action game since you are good at those? (Wataru) Well, I got charmed by the character in the package and unintentionally Even if I didnt win, I looked at the character inside the game plenty so Im satisfied! (Miyu) I see. Guess I dont mind in that case. (Wataru) Unlike those puzzle games where you just stoically remove blocks, this type of game that has competitive elements tends to have cute characters in them. Since I have won against Miyu five times in a row already, I raised my hand thinking that it was about time to switch games and then- Alright! Im feeling good!Eh, where are you!? Dont tell me you went out and left me alone here!? (Shuuhei) Since we heard Shuuhei waking up, we decided to turn it off and head back to the living room. Well then, with that being said, I want you to win this tournament no matter what. (Shuuhei) You are annoying when you are feeling down, but you are also annoying when you are in good spirits, Shuuhei! (Miyu) Miyu turned with her eyes half closed towards Shuuhei, who had stood up as he said that. While facing us, Shuuhei sat down on the chair again, hit the table and said this in indignation. Shut up, Miyucchi! In fact, youd better win! I bet all the money I had on both of you winning after all, theres no way to get that money back anymore! (Shuuhei) Eh? You, wouldnt it be bad if you didnt get it right? Im saying this in advance, but if you end up penniless you cant go around pestering Selene-san for money, you got that? Its fine if you ask us but its not like we have that much either. (Wataru) I know that! However, if the pair that won against us were to win the tournament Id feel content, in fact, it would feel like Id won too? Or something like that! (Shuuhei) Isnt that kind of wrong? That being said, for Shuuhei to have done the information gathering we were planning to do is something we should be thankful for. Shuuhei took out a table from his bag and started explaining while showing us the information on the screen. After we had memorized stuff like replays in our heads, we took a break. Oh right, Shuuhei, Mitsuyoshi-san included, I have been called the True Selfmultiple times throughout the tournament. What does that even mean? (Wataru) Ah, I was wondering about that too. What does that even mean? (Miyu) You guys are not looking at the BBS? Wait a bitehit should be around hereoh here here. I believe the origin of that name comes from this thread. (Shuuhei) After he said that, Miyu and I looked at the thread page Shuuhei was pointing at. Only three]Thread 4 about the actual situation of the duel event?Group HPlayers that belong to Sala] This is a thread to comment in real time about the broadcast of Group H of the PvP tournament that is under way in TB. Lets be well mannered in this thread. The next thread will be announced and made once we reach over 800 posts. In case its not made, itll be announced in the next post number. If that reply is not made, please slow down your posts. 518Nameless KnightIDwXaYU8Y Hero-chan is here!!!c(b?b ) 519Nameless Heavy WarriorIDZtkGyFb Her first battle was like that so I have high expectations. 520Nameless MageID3pcbybT However, why is she pairing up with a Shinto Priestshe should have paired up with an Archer 521Nameless Shinto PriestIDYgAjkJN Dont make fun of Shinto Priests! He was doing really well in that last match right!? 522Nameless ArcherID8yu5TXG A fight with the Emperor is not a good point of reference LOL 523Nameless KnightIDSgDZFPX It has started. So their opponents are 2 Martial Artiststhey are hard and a pain to deal with. 524Nameless ArcherIDmG3gZ9S Hero-chan is being surrounded 2 v 1. 525Nameless Heavy warriorIDZtkGyFb Well, Hero-chans partner hasnt moved from that spot since the beginning of the match 526Nameless MageID5BuDEpQ You are right LOL. Hes been charging his MP LOL. 527Nameless Light WarriorIDnbNEt6A Ah, he finally started to cast something. But, dont you think its too late to heal her? 528Nameless KnightIDSEJhyZB Hero-chan dieeeeeeeeeed!? 529Nameless Heavy WarriorIDUitE3QD So fast LOL, its barely been 30 seconds since the match started LMAO. Is what I thought but she stood up right awaaaaaaaaaay!? 530Nameless ArcherIDmG3gZ9S What the hell is this!? Please, someone explain! 531Nameless Shinto PriestIDfBeLSLS No no no no, this is too weird. I get the part where that Shinto Priest used Revive, but theres no way to shorten the cast time right? 532Nameless MageIDKkFsyDh From what I knowthere shouldnt be a way right now. 533Nameless Martial ArtistIDPB54phB Wait LOL, she died again LOL. 534Nameless KnightIDSgDZFPX This time for sure its overeh, wait? 535Nameless MageIDQgrV4Tw She got up again without delay LOL. Besides, where did the CD of Revive go LMAO. 536Nameless Shinto PriestIDhTDrZHW I mean you guys have been looking at Hero-chan all the time, that Shinto priest used Quick beforehand. 537Nameless Heavy WarriorIDnfHW9Bf Aah, now that I think about it that did exist. 538Nameless Martial ArtistIDEa6NU8J Everyone is on Hero-chans side, someone go cheer for the duo of Martial Artists LOL. No one is commenting on their side LOL. 539Nameless Light WarriorIDEbiexEQ Wellyou know 540Nameless Heavy WarriorID7BMNBe6 Cuteness is justice!! 541Nameless KnightIDwXaYU8Y That being said, I like how shes cute but what she shouts is pointlessly manly LOL. Its fun to watch LOL. 542Nameless ArcherIDJNT67ss Yeah, however, this time shes been mostly just enduring. 543Nameless MageID5TLB7Bp Because of the CD of Revive and Quick most likely. But, even when its 2 v 1, shes doing a good job of blocking her opponents and not letting them get past her. She keeps getting buffed and healed too so it does seem like shell be able to endure. 544Nameless Shinto PriestIDhTDrZHW This Shinto Priest is rotating his spells quite well. Other than that, if Im guessing right, hes predicting when he has to cast Revive. 545Nameless Heavy WarriorID7BMNBe6 Nah, theres no way. If he failed the timing, it would be all over. 546Nameless ArcherIDKdDwHQk However, if he started casting once she died, he wouldnt make it in time. Your casting would get interrupted when they hit you and it would be over. 547Nameless Light WarriorIDtT7ajD6 If Hero-chan dies one more time well be able to confirm it. If she does die again that is. 548Nameless KnightIDJNT67ss You, you are saying something quite meanLOL. 549Nameless Light WarriorIDtT7ajD6 However, sooner or later she willah. 550Nameless Martial ArtistIDTtnt7Bp Di!? 551Nameless ArcherIDKdDwHQk Wait a moment LMAO. Right now, Hero-chan went back to her last position like some kind of rewinding LMAO. 552Nameless Shinto PriestIDhTDrZHW I confirmed that he started casting 14 seconds before Hero-chan died. I mean, he did it even though there would be 15 seconds until he finished casting it LMAO. 553Nameless MageIDfhWgYi8 Whats with that 1 second of margin of error! 554Nameless Heavy WarriorID7BMNBe6 He didnt even give Hero-chan the time to fall down LMAO. Hes a demon LMAO. 555Nameless Shinto PriestIDnQDDrKZ This is bad, this Shinto Priest is so interesting LMAO. If he keeps doing this in the tournament, I might make one of those fetish threads and cheer him on LMAO. 556Nameless MageIDsz68Ze5 The opponents are shouting things like Zombie and Necromancer. I wont forgive you guys if you call Hero-chan a Zombie you know? 557Nameless Light WarriorIDd5AK5kL Its an enigma how he manages to read the timing at which shell die Even though you can control the timing to a certain extent with heals. 558Nameless KnightIDjPV4X3d She finished him off with Burst Edgeeeeeeeeeee!! 559Nameless Martial ArtistIDEa6NU8 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! Even though Im temporarily cheering for the Martial Artiiiiiiist!! 560Nameless ArcherIDWJBPJuL @599 Temporarily you say LOL. But to finish off with a powerful skill after enduring until now huhquite the exciting development. 561Nameless MageIDAyxdLLm The outcome has been decided. Im going to check the other groups(??)Υ 562Nameless KnightIDJyUP8TR This match, I would have loved to watch it in the venue if I had the time. 563Nameless Shinto PriestIDbSmaYc9 That being said, I dont appreciate the name Necromancer as another Shinto Priest. I believe that would suit Mages. Someone go give that Shinto Priest an appropriate name (Leaving it to others). 564Nameless Light WarriorID4h8Yy5d I saw that Shinto Priest as a pervert that used Hero-chan as if she was a remote weapon LOL. 565Nameless Heavy WarriorIDgUjp9hX Its true that the one controlling the flow of the battle wasnt Hero-chan but that guy. Its a bit mean that it was similar to a Necromancer LMAO. Shes like a robot LMAO. 566Nameless MageIDXEmWhLw There are enemies like that in games. Even if you defeat them endlessly, theyll get revived as long as you dont defeat the real enemy, or something like that LOL. 567Nameless Shinto PriestID2zbgPEd Ah, the True Self used Entrust on Hero-chan. 568Nameless Light WarriorIDx4SY8YN Was that a MP transfer skill? So that means that Burst Edge is out of CD. So he has an understanding of the CDs of his allies, that True Self is just faultless. 569Nameless ArcherIDeQ9ChT8 And thats the end of the match. However, that guy sure got blown away a great distance at the end. Its not like Id like to get hit by that but it felt really good to watch LOL. 570Nameless Heavy WarriorIDRYEafLV The True Self is amaziiiiiiiiiiiiiing!! 571Nameless MageIDFmDhzkf That True Self completely controlled the flow of the match from start to finish. 572Nameless Light WarriorIDKxuAJ7E Not bad True Self! Ill cheer for you next time too!! 573Nameless Shinto PriestIDbSmaYc9 Eh, what? We decided on True Self? LOL. And, your 2nd match was like a revival festival right? Thats why they decided on that nickname in a blink of an eye. (Shuuhei) Whos a remote weapon, having them saying something clever! I cant deny it!! (Miyu) No, you should deny it, Miyucchi (Shuuhei) So thats why it ended in True Self huhw-well, its better than being called a Necromancer. But it doesnt feel great after all (Wataru) According to Shuuhei, it seems like a Thread to cheer for Hero-chans True Self was happily made right after we got into the Top 8, but I didnt check it because its embarrassing. I have been given quite the weird name Chapter 81 - Betting and expectations towards both of them. Before getting into the chapter I should point out that I made a silly mistake when translating the name of a character from the rankings during the 1st event. Said character appears mentioned here again so I corrected it here and I believe I corrected it in the early chapters too but Im honestly not sure if there were more instances of him appearing but lets hope I did. Anyway, enjoy the chapter, releases might slow down a bit but Ill keep working on them. Oh right, participants like us can also bet right? (Wataru) That seems to be the case. How about you bet on yourselves? (Shuuhei) Before that, Id like to know what the bet odds are like. (Wataru) Ooh, I want to know too! How popular are we!? (Miyu) When he heard us say that, Shuuhei turned his eyes away awkwardly. Hey, dont tell me Y-You wont hear anything from my mouthyou can see the odds in the main page. Here. (Shuuhei) Saying that, Shuuhei handed us his tablet, which was showing the official site. Im getting a bad feeling about this, but for the time being, lets take a look. Ahlooking from the top, our names dont appear at allah, there it is. This one. (Wataru) 8th place49xwait a moment!! We are dead last arent weeeeeeee!!? (Miyu) Y-Yup (Shuuhei) Whats with this cruel rank. The number shown to us was just cruel, there were hardly any players that thought we would win the whole thing. Even though we hadnt fought yet, I had this odd feeling of having lost already. After pouring some for Miyu and Shuuhei, I took the teacup and took a sip of the tea, it was a bit more bitter than usual. While its a bit weird for me to ask this since this concerns me, Shuuhei. Is it really going to be fine? To bet that huge amount of money into this. You are completely aiming for a lucky break here. (Wataru) I regret it a bitb-but, Wacchi, youll do something about it right? Its going to be fine!! Its going to be huge if I get it right! (Shuuhei) Even if you say that to me (Wataru) However, I cant accept this! Shuuhei, why did things end up like this!? Explain things to me! (Miyu) This would also be faster if you looked at the BS most likely Theres a thread that is predicting who will win, wait a momentah, here. I think youll get an idea after seeing this. (Shuuhei) Last Boss] Thread 2 for predicting the winners of the Grado Empire sponsored?Duel tournament event Albert] This is a thread to predict the winner of the ongoing PvP tournament in TB. Chat regarding betting odds and amount of money bet should also be done here. Lets be well mannered. The next thread will be made once we reach over 900 comments. 2Nameless MageIDc2ZdELy Summary of the last thread. Identity of the Top 8 (8 pairs 16 people) Heavy Warriors 3?Light Warriors 2?Martial Artists 2?Knights 3?Archers 4?Mages 1?Shinto Priests 1. 3Nameless MageIDc2ZdELy Odds state at Noon (12:00) Taken from the official site. 1st place Mercenary Albert (Heavy)?Philia (Heavy) 1.4x 2nd place Licht (Knight)? Rose (Knight) 5.3x 3rd place Hippopotamus (Heavy)?FalkeArcher8.6x 4th place Insipid Green Tea (Martial Artist)?Dry Shiitake Mushroom (Archer) 10.1x 5th place Thief Edward (Light)?Archer Iris (Archer) 30.7x 6th place Forever a Chrysalis (Light)?Incomplete Container (Archer) 35.9x 7th place Walter (Martial Artist)?Herrschaft (Mage) 42.5x 8th place Yumir (Knight)?Hind (Shinto) 49.2x 4Nameless KnightIDLpcPafa Thanks for making the thread! 5Nameless Light WarriorIDnLbGEeY Good work. However, theres hardly any profit for betting on 1st place 6Nameless Shinto PriestIDBAxfMw5 Besides, it does look like its going to end up being even lower than that. Itll probably end at 1.2x by the end. 7Nameless MageIDNSZe6h7 The finals of Group A was the highlight after all. He turned the match around even when he ended 2 v 1 after all. 8Nameless ArcherIDjBsCZa2 That old man Albert is all sorts of weird. And Philia-chan is cute. 9Nameless Light WarriorIDTphkGPw What relationship does she have with that mass of muscles? Shes a little girl, or rather, she looks like an elementary schoolerhis daughter? 10Nameless ArcherIDSnzsbLX No way, they dont look alike at all. 11Nameless Shinto PriestIDGn4RuKR If his wife was pretty theres a chance. Other than that, their eyes look similar. Theresa chance, I think. 12Nameless MageIDKwNgwXF I dont know the truth buta little girl brandishing a big axe has its appeal. Since I thought it was going to be full of guys, Im quite happy about how surprisingly theres a few female players left. 13Nameless Heavy WarriorIDurQQUmy Lets seePhilia-chan, Rose-chan, Iris-chan. That ojou-sama and Hero-chan, and Walter-chan huh? That makes it 6! 14Nameless ArcherIDSnzsbLX Eh? Did he just mix someone into that group? 15Nameless KnightIDPWhc8rf Just your imagination. I didnt see anything. 16Nameless Light WarriorIDX7UXVd7 WALTER-CHANISACUTEGIRLWITHASHORTCUT! ITSTRUE!! 17Nameless Martial ArtistIDgzDg469 I cant be the only one that had to double-check when he saw the profiles in the replay videos LOL. Thats a scam, a scam I tell you. 18Nameless Heavy WarriorID8wPUixb Fuh, I bet on Hero-chan and True Self, who are dead last. Please make it happen like last eventplease! 19Nameless MageIDbTSiSWA Last eventwas it where Hero-chan made it into the damage rankings? 20Nameless Heavy WarriorID8wPUixb @19 Thats right. On the last day, True Self used Sacrifice and Hero-chan stole 1st place from Albert. 21Nameless KnightID23J84Pg But, I wonder how itll go? 1st place and 2nd place were overwhelming in the group tournament. Its hard when you have to fight two vanguards, they look quite strong. Thats why the current odds are like that. 22Nameless MageIDSEYc8Y7 Even though having a magic job behind would be an orthodox tactic in RPGs. Why did it end up like this? 23Nameless Shinto PriestID8CuuAL6 Because having an Archer behind is the standard in TB 24Nameless MageIDHkWNs2Y The casting times get in the way after all. Putting more of a burden on your vanguards than Archers is quite the minus. Hah 25Nameless Shinto PriestIDfmRF9rW @22-24 At least, lets keep cheering for the magic classes that have won until now. Theres only 2 left after all Since its like this, Ill go bet on Hero-chan too, though itll only be a small amount. Ah, this is my fault. Thanks to me lacking any type of high powered magic, its being seen as a fatal weakness for duels. As expected, Archers with a vanguard are the preferred duo. Herschas eyes looked as if they were filled with ragewhen I first saw her name, I was quite surprised. (Wataru) Well, leaving aside the two pairs at the top, which dominated their groups. The other 4 pairs aside from Herscha-chans and Wacchis all have an Archer in them.(Shuuhei) Isnt that just job discrimination!? So shallow minded! (Miyu) Well theres that too, but we also had a close match in our group final after all(Wataru) Fufun!(Shuuhei) Shuuhei proudly stuck out his chest. Usually, I would tell him not to get carried away but since he looked quite down yesterday, Ill let it pass this time. And then, as if she was thinking about something, Miyu put her hand over her mouth and breathed in. I decided. Im also going to bet on ourselves! (Miyu) Ooh, Miyucchi you sure are fired up!! I was waiting for those words!! (Shuuhei) She stood up from her chair along with those words and as if to put fighting spirit into those words, she hit her chest. Because of the inertia, those twin hills of hers were shaking. Im fine with betting, but let the amount be modera- (Wataru) Everything.(Miyu) Eh?(Wataru) Everything we own!! Shouldnt that be obvious!!?(Miyu) Whoa!! As expected of Miyucchi, you know what you are talking about!!(Shuuhei) These guys, they are not thinking at all about what would happen if they fail Once I drank the tea while those two were getting excited, for some reason, it suddenly got quiet and they stared at me with eyes full of expectation. Eh, are they telling me I have to go and bet too? W-Well then, Ill bet only a small amount.(Wataru) Hah(Both of them) Whats with that expression that looks as if they are sayingIm disappointed in you, whats wrong with going for a safe option. To begin with, even if its a game, I dont like things like gambling. In real life, I make a lot of effort to economise as much as I can. Its going to be 0 if we miss you know? 0. We wont get anything back. In that case, it would be much better if we indulged ourselves a bit and went to eat something tast- Wataru, Ive known you for a long timeI know what you are thinking about more or less. However, this is a game!! A game!! Whats fun about thinking about risks as if it was real life!? You have to bet too!! You have to!!(Miyu) !!!(Wataru) Hearing Miyus words, I felt shock as if I had just been hit in my head. I-Its true thateven if the money inside the game were to be gone, that wouldnt matter at all. Even if we had to work hard to earn it all back, as long as its a game, thinking about ways to earn the money might lead to ways to have fun. No matter where you look at it from, Im being dragged into it, I am butif its at times like this, I guess I wouldnt mind being dragged into it I got it. Ill bet everything too.(Wataru) Alriiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!!(Both of them) You guys are so noisy. Ill do my best, but dont blame me later.(Wataru) If we end up losing, its decided that itll be money earning hell after the event ends. Then, I checked the clock and noticed that it was close to 3pm. I stood up since it was about time for a snack and Shuuhei said from behind me. By the way, Wacchi. Who would you bet on if it was someone other than yourself?(Shuuhei) Ah? Well(Wataru) If we thought about it normally, it would probably the Aniki, Albert. Once I said that, both made faces that were saying I thought soand laughed. Chapter 82 - Entering the venue and the 3 girls Sono real excuses for the delay. Just a case of me being busy and being too exhausted to even feel like translating anything. Hopefully the next chapter will be out sooner, enjoy the chapter. We ate the waffles I made for a snack and finally got to the main objective of our gathering, which was to have a group study. We stopped before it got dark. More than half the time was spent talking about game related stuff, but since we had finished covering what would be in the test it was fine. After bringing the laundry inside, about the time I was done making preparations for dinner, Rise and Mom came back home while carrying a huge amount of stuff. Once I took a look inside the bags I saw a huge amount of clothnope, for some reason it seems like they had gone to the supermarket and bought ingredients. Im thankful. They stood next to me, who kept making the food and started putting the food inside the fridge. Wataru. It smells good, but whats in the menu for dinner? (Akeno) Ah, chicken stew, fried mackerel, boiled spinach, mushroom miso soupsomething like that. Since we didnt eat rice today, I made it Japanese style. (Wataru) Oh my, that sounds great. Our lunch was kinda heavy. (Akeno) Is that so? What did you eat? (Wataru) Fast food. We ate in an hamburger shop. (Rise) Eh? Why? (Wataru) I unconsciously stopped moving my hands and looked at them. Since they were going to eat outside, it would have been fine if they went to a better place. Didnt they have enough time? Or was it because the shops were crowded? Just when I thought that, they both said that they went there on purpose. Since Wataru makes only healthy things, sometimes we feel like going to those kinds of cheap places to eat. Right? Rise-chan.(Akeno) Yes. We stopped there without noticing. (Rise) I see. So, how was it? (Wataru) When I asked that, they glanced at each other and showed an ambiguous smile. This time, lets buy some hamburger bread and make some at home. (Akeno) Thats right. If inside there were burgers made by nii-san, Im sure theyd come out really tasty. (Rise) Theres no way that would be possible (Wataru) These two tend to do things that I dont really understand quite frequently. In the end, this is turning into a conversation that makes me unable to understand why they even went out for such. To begin with, if we are going that far, I might as well make the buns at home too. We have a gas oven after all, it would be a waste to not use it. Oh well. For the time being, lets eat dinner. Come on, bring the stuff over to the table. (Wataru) Got it. (Akeno) Understood.(Rise) After dinner, I cleaned up the tableware and after finishing preparing the ingredients for tomorrow, I took a bath. Once I finished doing everything I had to do, it was finally time for the finals. There was more than enough time, so I logged into the main site first and bet my entire savings too Well then, time to go. (Wataru) After stretching, I put on the VR gear and lie down on the bed. Ooh, the size of the colosseum has gotten bigger The ones used for the group tournaments were just copy pasted and all the same, but it seems like the one used for the finals is completely different. After moving to the venue from Sala after logging inI appeared within the colosseum that was many times the size of the previous one. After taking a small look at the scenery outside, I got the feeling that it was the same as the one for the group tournaments, how do they make it to stay the same way? Do they exist in parallel while being part of another dimensionor something like that? I dont really get it, but in that huge place there were already a big amount of players crowding into it. Ah, its the True Self. You are right. However, the remote weapon Hero-chan is not there though? Wont she come here later?Whoa, he looked here!! Be careful! If you meet his eyes, youll get turned into a remote weapon too! As if! is what I wanted to retort with all my might when I heard such conversation, but I managed to keep calm. Bear it, you have to keep calm. Though, there are more people using True Self than I thought there wouldbut since Yumir is not next to me the amount is moderate, I started moving around quietly so I didnt stand out. Leaving that aside, when I opened my inventory and saw the 0G in my possession, I felt sad Because you can even bet the single digit numbers of cash, under Miyu and Shuuheis supervision, I properly bet all I owned which was about 300.000G. At the end, our position was still last but our betting odds got up to 50x, so if we win well get the huge amount of 15.000.000G but I doubt itll go that well though Who are we? !? Suddenly my field of view turned dark because of someones hands. The voices I heard were of 2 females, but the owner of the voices wasnt the one that was covering my eyes. From the soft feeling I got, I believe these hands also belong to a female butUuh!? Theres something, there are some soft and heavy things that are not these hands currently pressing against my back though!? 3 people, girls, and then this, thisah, I got it. The ones that talked were Lycoris-chan and Cineraria-chan. The one covering my eyes is Siesta-chanI think? How about that! (Hind) Ooh, senpai you got them right. Long time no see. (Siesta) Its been a long time! Good job figuring it out! (Lyco) Good evening. Thanks for inviting us tonight.(Sai) The one with round eyes and cheerfulness Lycoris-chan, the one like a polite honor student is Cineraria-chan, and the sleepy looking one Siesta-chan bowed to me. I would have preferred if they had made a normal entrance, but it was at the level of a charming prank coming from some middle schoolers so I couldnt really reprimand them. Though its also because like Cineraria-chan said, I was the one who invited them Welcome. Since we are here, how about we go get some seats together? (Hind) Participants in the finals have front row seats prepared for them beforehand, and each pair is able to call up to 10 friends to sit down with them. In our case we invitedRiizu, Selene-san, Tobi and our new friend Mitsuyoshi-san, so we had space to spare. At that time, we invited these girls since they were both friends of mine and Yumir, but Im happy that they were able to come here to cheer for us. By the way senpaiwerent you able to discern who I was just now because of the sensation of my breasts? Was that just my imagination? (Siesta) Wait, what is this girl even saying in public right now? Its true that I did. Its true but!!! Just now, I kinda went and compared them to the breasts of Miyu, who I saw this noon too, but!! Since youll end up making fun of me whether I admit it or I deny it, I definitely wont answer. Besides, I believe I already warned you to not do or say things like that when talking to people of the opposite sex. Its dangerous. (Wataru) Eh, dont be like that. However, didnt I say that I didnt do this kind of thing with people other than senpai?(Siesta) FuooHind-senpai, that was a cool way to react! Its so mature! (Lycoris) So true. Its quite unusual to see Si being handled this easily.(Cineraria) Thatthat is probably only when they compare me to the guys from their middle school right? Being told that Im more mature compared to middle schoolers does give me quite the complex feeling. Even when I look like this to them, Im actually quite shaken up inside, I dont think Im that different compared to them. Rather than that senpai, the way you talk reminds me of an old ma- (Siesta) Ah? (Hind) Just kidding, Im sorry. (Siesta) Si-chan apologized!? Even though she has never apologized even once to our homeroom teacher!? (Lycoris) Such incredible intensity.ah, I-I believe you feel more like a mom! Thats why its fine! Yeah! (Cineraria) Cineraria-chan, that doesnt make it any better. But to think they would call me an old mansaying things that are bothering other people Since Siesta-chan just keeps pulling pranks whenever she sees a chance, I believe that shes quite the problem child in real life too. But according to Lycoris-chan and Cineraria-chan, it looks like despite this fact, her academic grades are quite good. I can see their middle school teachers having it hard Even though her grades are good, she doesnt take things seriously and its not like they can put their hands on a student. Now that I think about it, havent you guys done any PvP? If Lycoris-chan acted as the vanguard, I believe there would be a good balance no matter who pairs up with her though. (Hind) No, I participated with Lyco during the preliminaries but (Cineraria) Since we sucked, we always lost before being able to use Arrow Rain. We dropped out during them. (Lycoris) I watched over their growth while taking a nap. Mufuh. (Siesta) While saying that, Siesta-chan gave a thumbs up while looking really sleepy. Isnt that the same as saying she didnt do anything? At least look over the replays and give them some advice. (Hind) Si-chans advice was really accurate, but she only did give advice whenever she felt like it. (Cineraria) Si-chan is mean right? Right? (Lycoris) Rather than mean, Id say you guys have quite the weird relationship (Hind) From what it looks like, instead of a 3 man group, it feels more like 2 people plus another, but weirdly enough it makes you think that they are part of the same group. Lycoris-chan and Cineraria-chan are the main people that decide what to do, Siesta-chan does voice her opinion from time to time or moves on a whim. That being said, since they get along so well despite that, I have nothing to say as an outsider. Since we arrived at the front row after talking to that point, we decided to continue our talk after we had taken our seats. Chapter 83 - Strong-armed flash That being said, senpai, you sure have gotten really famous quickly thanks to Yumir-san. There we go. (Siesta) Whoa! Y-You are right (Hind) You even got a weird nickname right!? If I remember correctly it was (Lycoris) True Self, yup (Cineraria) We watched the replays! My hands got sweaty during the group finalswhats wrong, Hind-senpai? You are looking all restless there. (Siesta) Thatsobviously because Siesta-chan is sitting on top of my lap!! Both of you stop her, the stares Im getting from our vicinity hurt, they are piercing me! (Hind) When I set her down against her will and made her take a seat, the three of them placed a hand behind their head and stuck out their tongues. I cant really accept just how in sync they are at times like these On top of that, since they were that cheerful, I got tired from dealing with them alone. I wonder if someone will come soon As I was thinking that, a suspicious person wearing a hood and a robe stood up in front of us. Like that, she stood with her arms folded and didnt move for a while butsince I stood there without saying a word and just looking back at her, she began to shake. Say something, at least react, those kind of emotions were leaking from her. Hah Yumi-(Hind) Tadah! Who would have thought? It was me all along! (Yumir) She probably couldnt hold back anymore, Yumir took off her robe and showed herself before I could even finish saying it. The moment they saw her, Lycoris-chan and Cineraria-chan, who were just looking at the situation, smiled like blossoming flowers. Yumir-san! (Both of them) Like that, they started getting loud and having fun, so I left them to their own devices. After sitting down again in my seat, I let a big sigh out. Finally, a weight has been lifted from my shoulders Siesta-chan quietly approached me right away, but I should be able to deal with one of them. Senpai senpai, why is Yumir-san wearing a robe? Those are the robes that you get when you create a char and are used to conceal your identity right? (Siesta) Yeah. That girl, shes way more known by other players compared to someone like me. It was done just to make sure she didnt cause an uproar. Besides, in order for her to not do anything stupid, she was supposed to be accompanied by someone that didnt like standing out but (Hind) A person that dislikes standing outsenpai, isnt that person over there? (Siesta) I followed where Siesta-chan was pointing at The person wearing a robe just like Yumir, was far behind from our seatssince her path was being obstructed by players chatting, she couldnt pass through and was panicking. S-Selene-saaaaaaaan!! (Hind) Somehow, I was able to push all those players aside, rescue Selene-san and managed to return to our previous seats. After exchanging some basic introductions nervously with the 3 girls, Selene-san sat limply on her seat. Good work out there, Selene-san. Thanks for bringing Yumir here. (Hind) I-Its fine. Im the one that suggested it. (Selene) Since it doesnt look like theres been an uproar, it seems like they were able to move around well. But it looks like at the end, Yumir saw us and broke into a run, which ended up with her being left behind. Are you fine? Having 3 people youve seen for the first time here, Mitsuyoshi-san is also going to come later though. (Hind) Im sort of fine with girls younger than mebesides, Mitsuyoshi-san looks like the calm type and its the second time well meet, so itll probably be fine. (Selene) Ooh, Selene-san sure is working hard to improve on her fear of strangers. By the way, the one that said Dont mind me and invite your friends. was her. The one that made Yumir-sans armor was Selene-san!? Having her name called out suddenly, Selene-san showed signs of feeling nervous. It seems like they were currently talking about Yumirs defensive gear. Umu. Secchan is a top class blacksmith! If you want to hear about it in detail, you should go ask the person itself! (Yumir) The design is also beautifulso, Selene-san. Would it be fine if we talked to you? (Cineraria) Hyaih! G-Go ahead!! (Selene) Having been called by Cineraria-chan, Selene-sans shoulders trembled as she replied. Like that, they asked questions about the armor and praised her. While she was really nervous, she was able to properly reply to their questions. Its goingwell, yup. For some reason, It feels kind of lonely. Senpai, you are making the face of a father sending his daughter to wed. (Siesta) You are kidding! Wait, what kind of face is even that!? Have you even seen it? (Hind) An uncle of mine made that same face when he was at his daughters wedding. It was exactly like yours. (Siesta) Eeeehto begin with, it seems like Siesta-chan wants to treat me like an old man no matter what. If Im being told it over and over, Ill really start getting old so I wish she stopped, really. After that, Mitsuyoshi-san was the first one of the remaining three to appear. When he saw that the lineup was full of girls, he let out a So glamorous. and in a blink of an eye, he was already part of the group and participating in conversations. Then it was Tobi and the last one was Riizu but (Riizu) ?(Siesta) Riizu arrived and without moving, she stared at Siesta-chan, who was seated next to me. Im pretty sure I told her these girls were coming beforehand though Then, as if she had thought of something, she headed towards Siesta-chan and said one word while pointing at her. Out. (Riizu) Wait a moment Riizu, come over here! (Hind) It was the same as that time with Selene-san, but it was far too rude for a first meeting. As expected, Siesta-chan looked a bit offended. I took her to a place a bit far from there and after giving her a sermon, I had her do it again from the beginning. I apologize. Nice to meet you, Im Hind-sans little sister Riizu. (Riizu) Eh, so you are the little sister. FuunI see (Siesta) H-Hey, Sai-chan. Arent those two a bit scary? (Lycoris) Y-Yup. I wonder whats going on? (Cineraria) Like that they exchanged greetings and, leaving aside their inner thoughts, nothing happened on the surface. However there was a change in the seating order, on both of my sides, instead of Siesta-chan and Yumir, it changed to Tobi and Mitsuyoshi-san. The one that said it was better that way and assigned the positions was Mitsuyoshi-san, who said Hind-kuns human relationships are terrible!, while laughing. Are theyterrible? Meanwhile, the first participants appeared on the stage. The favorites made a grand entrance in the first battle of the tournament. Ah, hes here!! Uooooh!! Aniki!! (Tobi) Tobi-kun sure is in high spirits. Aniki? (Selene) Ah, we met him before. Since then, hes been a fan of Mercenary Albert. He has him in his friend list too. (Hind) I see. However, isnt he betting on Hind-kun? (Selene) This and that are different matters! Degozaruyo!! (Tobi) A big muscular guy carrying a big sword and a twintailed little girl carrying a big axe. So thats Philia-chan huhseeing both of them, the entire venue started cheering excitedly. And it seems like Albert Aniki was still using the sword we sold him. If we are talking about that strength he had when he pulled out the sword, even if he didnt switch weapons during this event, it should still hold more than enough destructive power. This is just me talking about the weapon in terms of weight and how hard it is to handle though. On the other side of the stage there was a section with seats for the nobles, it seems like thats where the NPC leaders of each nation are seated at. Unfortunately you cant really see them from here, but it seems like the emperor and the queen, alongside all the rulers of each nation are lined up there. Lets hope that the players that are seated close to them will share screenshots of them later on. Well then, lets turn our eyes back to the stage The opponents are Thief Edward and Archer Irisa duo of a Light Warrior and Archer. The same as Tobi and Mitsuyoshi-san then. (Hind) That being said, it doesnt seem like theres not going to be a live coverage of thisisnt this the same as the preliminaries? (Tobi) No, wait. Isnt the situation at the royal seats weird? (Mitsuyoshi) Right after Mitsuyoshi-san said that, a red silhouette jumped out from the royal seats. Like that, it vigorously landed on top of the stage. The being that stood there as if nothing had happened, was none other than the emperor of the Grado Empire. There was no way to mistake that deep red figure even from this distance. As if to calm the commotion that was taking place in the venue, the Emperor opened his mouth along with a big gesture. Ladies and gentlemen! Im declaring here and now, that the one that will judge the 7 last matches of this tournament will be none other than me! In other words, you could say that theres no seat more special that this one. (Emperor) In reaction to those words said in jest, the audience let out some laughs and some people voiced their agreement with him. The voice was transmitted really well, it reached every part of the colosseum. Fufu, I bet you guys are jealous! Well, even if the scenery we see is different, we only have one wish tonightthat is for our blood to boil and our flesh to throb, that is, to watch some intense fights! Well then, lets enjoy this feast to our hearts content!! (Emperor) The Emperor raised both hands and the venue trembled along with his loud voice. Immediately after, loud cheers that didnt lose in volume to him resounded throughout the venue. Following that excitement, the Emperor said the following words. First match of the quarterfinals, Mercenary Albert?Philia vs Thief Edwards?Archer Irisbegin!! (Emperor) Both duos started to move at the same time as the Emperors hand was lowered. However, the match was cruelly decided in an instant. Against Edward, who was aiming for a hit and run tactic, Albert ran towards him without hesitation after the match started. Edward got flustered and tried to keep him in check by landing a hit, but thanks to the hit stop resistance, he couldnt stop his charge and then U-Uwah!? Ooh!? In front of our eyes, Edwards slender body was struck violently. It collided with the invisible field and like that, along with a splash of blood, the body slowly fell down. Edward, who was on the ground, didnt show any signs of moving again. While dumbfounded, I returned my sight back to Albert, and he was standing still in the posture after having swung his large sword. I wonder just how strongly he swung that, there were a large amount of cracks around his feet. T-This is surprisingwatching it live, you can see again how uncanny that is (Hind) Even if theres the weight correction for Heavy Warriors, that wasnt the speed at which youd usually swing that weapon. Other than that, to swing that stupidly big swordit has to be the result of the physical strength of the actual person (Mitsuyoshi) Even if it was a critical hit against a Light Warrior, for him to die in a single normal attackI, Im getting chills (Tobi) Even Tobi, who was cheerfully cheering for him until a while ago, was left in this state. The girls didnt utter a single word and the venue was enveloped in a strange air. Albert didnt do anything else, Philia cornered Iris and the match ended. Thats it for the match! I was shown overwhelming strength that went against the concept of the tournament! The winner is the duo of Mercenary Albert?Philia!(Emperor) Chapter 84 - 7th place vs 8th place, start of the battle. Sorry for the delay. Been kinda busy lately so I couldnt muster the motivation to translate anything, but I finally managed to get around the next chapter. No promises on the next one, enjoy the chapter. 2nd battle, Hippopotamus (Grado Empire)?Falke (Grado Empire) vs Insipid Green Tea (Mahl Republic)?Dry Shiitake Mushroom (Mahl Republic), it ended with the Hippopotamus duo winning. Followed by the 3rd match, Richt (Rust Kingdom)?Rose (Rust Kingdom) vs Forever a Chrysalis (Grado Empire)?Incomplete Container (Grado Empire), the Richt?Rose duo was currently at an advantage. Speaking of our match, it seems like it ended up being the last one. It seems like the pairings were supposed to be random, but in the end, we both ended up being at the end of the tournament bracket. Its reaching the climaxas expected of the finals block. They are evenly matched.(Hind) The only weird match was that first one. (Tobi) In other words, you could say that the only weird one is that Albert. (Mitsuyoshi) Like Mitsuyoshi-san said, Philia-chans movements were really good as a Heavy Warrior, but those were still within the realm of common sense. Only Albert aniki was in another completely different dimension since the group battles, wouldnt he be fine going 1 vs 2? There were people that voiced that opinion. However, these high pitched cheerssure are hard on the ears!! Kah! (Tobi) The source of Tobis unpleasant face were the cheers of the female players, they were all directed towards the Knight Richt. From what I saw from the videos, he did seem like a handsome guy that would be popular. If I looked more closely, aside from Tobi, I could see a lot of male players looking rather displeased. In contrast to being loved by females, he seems to be quite hated by the male player base. If you are jealous, you could just be honest and say so. (Hind) I-I-Its not like that!! (Tobi) Thanks for the easy to understand reaction. (Hind) If Tobi-kun fixed the parts where hes lacking, he would be popular too. Such a waste. (Mitsuyoshi) I wonder. If he was able to fix those, youd think hed have already fixed them by now. (Hind) God damn iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!! (Tobi) In an act of frustration, Tobi got off his seat and crouched down. Maybe we went a bit too far with the jokesI locked eyes with Mitsuyoshi-san and we both smiled wryly. We picked Tobi up from both sides and got him back onto his seat. For a while, Tobi covered his face while groaning and he finally took a deep breath after a while. Fuh, I calmed down. But I cant stop this feeling of envy when I see a pair of man and woman finishing someone off smoothly with continuous sword skills. (Tobi) Unlike the pair of Albert, these two are quite coordinated after all. (Hind) Now that you mention it, it felt like they made two 1 on 1 fights. What do you think, Hind-kun? From your point of view, what do you think about their coordination? (Mitsuyoshi) Right after those words from Mitsuyoshi-san, their opponents Light Warrior, who acted as the vanguard, was finished off by their pincer attack. With the way its going, this match should have been decided. Well, from what Ive seen so far, the coordination between those Knights Its true that they are both strong enough to be the 2nd most popular duo. However, it might be because of the fear of friendly fire, the distance between them is far too large. I believe there are plenty of weaknesses we can take advantage of. (Hind) Oh? As expected of you. If the demon of coordination says so, it must be true. (Mitsuyoshi) We experience that first hand with our bodies after all. I have high expectations of you! (Tobi) You dont have to suck up to me like that. Before that, we first have to pass through the fight in front of us or there will be nothing after. I believe you guys are getting ahead of yourselves here. (Hind) After saying that, I stood up from my seat. If we win, well face them in the next round, but for the time being lets put that away from our minds. More importantly, if we dont start moving before the next match, well end up having to go there in a hurry. Yumir, we should get going. (Hind) Mogo? (Yumir) I called Yumir, who was stuffing her mouth with muffins and urged her to start preparing. The reason why the female seats were really quiet was because of this. Though the guys did eat them really fast, the girls ignored the match and took their time to enjoy the sweets. The conversations I heard from time to time had nothing to do with the match and were all related to discussing the sweets. Thats enough! Well done, Knights of Rust! The way you completely plucked your opponents chances of winning was splendid! The winners are the Richt?Rose duo! (Emperor) Meanwhile, it seems like the match was decided. With this, the 3rd match of the quarter finals is over too, in the end it ended because of a misfire of Arrow Rain. With this its finally our turn next. Well then, we are going! (Yumir) Well be on our way. (Hind) After receiving words of encouragement and being sent off by everyone, Yumir and I moved to the stage. While being watched by the Emperor, we faced Hersschaft and Walter. Walter was wearing the same butler outfit as before. However, it was probably a new one made with materials with high defense. In Herrschafts case, she was wearing a far more gorgeous dress than before. Since they were both wearing outfits that you didnt usually see players wearing, they were standing out quite a bit. The reason Herrscha has the nickname of Ojou-sama in the BBS is probably also because of this fact. HindI wanted to face you in the finals. (Herrscha) The people in the BBS supporting the two duos with a magic class job in them are probably quite disappointedto think that we would have to beat each other right from the bat. (Hind) B-But, one of us will go to the semifinals! I, if we lose, Ill cheer for master! (Walter) Dont talk as if its decided that we are going to lose, Walter!Hind! If we win, you will have to cheer for us! (Herrscha) Well, that was what I was planning to do (Hind) Hah, theres no way we would lose that easily! (Yumir) Towards those words coming from Yumir, Herrscha glared at her sharply. Walter looked quite nervous and the Emperor looked like he was having fun watching sparks fly off before the match. It seems like until they are done talking, he will wait to give the signal for the battle to start. Your partner sure has quite the impertinent mouth. Shouldnt you teach her some manners? (Herrscha) Look whos talking. Cant you hold a conversation without adding Hind into it? Ah? If you have something to say, how about you say it straight to me? You coward! (Yumir) They countered sharp words with sharp words. The corners of their eyes suddenly rose up and they took up their weapons and shouted at the same time. So rude! I cant forgive your insolent attitude! (Herrscha) Just what I was asking for! Come at me already! (Yumir) Well, I already thought this before butthese two, their natures are identical. What do you think, Walter? When I asked him that carefreely, he replied with a troubled expression. I-Its true that that might be the case but, master, is it really fine to leave them like that? (Walter) Dont worry. You should look forward to their attitude after the battle. (Hind) If you say so, mastereh, wellIll put my heart into it! Lets have a good battle! (Walter) Sure. Ill do my best too. (Hind) I stood quite far behind Yumir and Walter stood as if to protect Herrscha. When we were in position, the Emperor took a step forward. Im grateful that the Emperor had waited until we finished talking. I take you are ready? Fumuh, thats good. In that case, final battle of the quarter finals, Walter?Herrschaft vs Yumir?Hindbegin! (Emperor) Chapter 85 - Aiming for weaknesses and trump card Hi there, long time no see. Yup, Im still not dead (yet). Why did this chapter take this long? Well..you could say that I did get a bit busy butif I were to be honest it was more me getting lazy (because I was tired) during that time and eventually forgetting to work on the chapter. So yeah, my bad. Regarding this chapter, theres a skill that was a bit hard to find a way to make it work in English so I just left it as its read, it wont appear much in the following chapters so I guess its not really a deal breaker as long as the readers know what the skill does. Will have some free time for the following couple weeks so Ill attempt to have the next one done in the next couple days. (Lets pray that I can motivate myself to do so) Anyway, not much else to say here, enjoy the chapter. Right after the match started, just when I was going to start charging my MP up, I was assaulted by a whip at the same time I heard the sound of the wind being cut. Luckily, it only hit the area around my legs so I didnt take any damage, but the range was far longer than I expected. Furthermore, the problem was that I was unable to see the trajectory at allso I should take it as its impossible to see. With the physical attack of a mage it would be too weak to count as a damage source, so it can be expected that it was used mainly to stop me from chanting and MP charging. Yumir! (Hind) Oh! Here I go! (Yumir) This time, well be the ones going on the offensive. The orders I gave Yumir this time were extremely simple and not very precise. In other words Kuh, so you are going to aim for me!? (Herrscha) Fuhahaha! It was to focus on recklessly sticking close to Herrscha. The audience grew excited because of Yumirs fierce attacks from the get go. With our distance growing, we were currently mutually isolated, if Walter were to focus on targeting me it would be pretty dangerous. However, I had confidence about something. Ojou-sama! (Walter) !! Walter, you idiot! I told you many times to not let Hind get MPKyah! (Herrscha) For you to look away, you sure have it easy, huh!? Take this! Ill chop those annoying drills of your! (Yumir) I-I cant do that! To let Ojou-sama alone as shes being attacked! Ill assist you! (Walter) Walter wont come my way, definitely. After being called master by him, I had been in contact frequently with Walter, it seems like Herrschas familys butler training was the real deal. From the contents of the worries that were in our conversations, they were very strict by todays modern standards. It was ingrained in his bodythat no matter what happened, he should protect his master. Even if its a game, I doubt that the docile Walter will be able to ignore that. Making use of that, I was able to quietly charge up my MP. I have the feeling that its quite the dirty tactic, but if Herrscha is unable to recover from this strategy that takes Walters nature into account, well probably win at this rate. Ive more or less charged up my MP, so I started casting plenty of buffs and heals on Yumir. Herrscha is doing a good job at running away and Walters defense is solid, however, Yumir has already managed to bring Herrschas HP down to around 50%. Will they be able to get out of this situation? Kuh, at this rate! Guess we dont have any other choiceWalter, we are going with Plan B! (Herrscha) -!! Yes, ojou-sama! (Walter) Ooh!? Whats going on!? (Yumir) Walter went from playing defensive to going on the offense. He passed through Yumirs sword and went towards her body. Furthermore, both of his fists were emitting light- No good! Get away, Yumir! (Hind) Eh? (Yumir) Haaaaaaaaaah! (Walter) Walter is an Qigong type among the martial artist types. They are able to inflict status ailments on strong foes and their resilience is higher than other martial artist types, this skill Denebuh!? (Yumir) Hakkei?Yabu, its a powerful skill that for the short duration of 5 seconds, you are able to release attacks that disregard the opponents defense. It goes without saying that, in a state that was akin to being defenseless, Yumir was knocked out by the rush of blows and rolled on the stage. This made the armor that Selene-san went through so much trouble to make look bad. Furthermore, this situation is not good. I was completely careless! I knew about the skill, but Walter didnt use this skill in the group stages at all. Even though I thought that we wouldnt get into trouble as long as I was careful about Raging Flame, to think they would be able to counterattack this well No good, both of them are coming this way! Because I wasnt being vigilant of Walters skills, I still havent finished casting Revive! That was a trump card that we were saving for the finals! Feel honored, Hind! (Herrscha) Prepare yourself, master! (Walter) Theres another 8 seconds until Revive finishes casting! I moved towards the edge of the stage to gain as much distance as I could. As if to showcase how fast he was, Walter shortened the distance in an instant. Damn it, his physical ability is high! 5 seconds left! Dont panic, dodging should be the only thing I take pride in. Let him come closer until the last momentthen roll through his flank to slip through his kick. Even though the system would stop your casting if it judged that you have taken damagealright, 3 seconds left! He didnt hit me! Walter! Hurry up and stop his casting! (Herrscha) Y-Yes! (Walter) At the same time they talked in a panic, 3 attacks flew towards me. A punch from Walter thrown from an imperfect stance along with a whip attack from Herrscha after having cast Fire Ball flew towards me simultaneously. Only 1 second left, please make it in time! Daah! Ouch!? (Hind) It grazed him!? We did it! This marks the end for you, Hind! (Herrscha) I ran towards the Fire Ball since it looked to be the easiest one to dodge, but from the 3 balls that she shot I was grazed by the last one. Having confirmed their victory, she had Walter stand in front of her as she started chanting a big spell. However, I picked up my staff and took up my stance again as I smiled at Herrscha and Walter. Who said that it was over? (Yumir) !? Immediately after, Walter was swept away in an instant by lightning. While being covered in lightning, Yumir sharply rushed in front of his eyes. Seems like since I cast it while facing the Fire Ball, I was able to make them both miss the visual effect of my Revive. As a result, Walter was taken by surprise and unable to dodge Yumirs sharp attack, taking a direct hit to the side. Yumirs war cry echoed throughout the stage. The ones that are going to lose, are you guys! (Yumir) O-Ojou-samaaaaaa!! (Walter) Walter! (Herrscha) Taking the Burst Edge filled with Yumirs fighting spirit, Walters small body was blown away while spinning in the air. Being unable to properly take the fall, his body made a loud noise as it fell powerlessly on the stage. Theres no doubt that he became incapacitated there. I looked back at Herrscha after making sure of that and was quite surprised that her eyes were still filled with the intention to fight. It seems like she didnt lose concentration even while Walter was being blown away, on top of her hand there was a gigantic fireball already being formed. Its not over yet! The match hasnt been decided yet! (Herrscha) Nuuooooooooh!? Hind, isnt that fireball even bigger than the emperors!? (Yumir) Is this the time for comments like that!? Run away! (Hind) She must have casted it along with the mage skill Concentration! Its a skill that empowers your magic by offering a part of your HP, judging from the MP shes been able to charge up until now, she probably has also used Mana Conversion, she most likely has barely any HP left. Its literally the last attack fired after giving all her remaining life. She probably was aiming to crush both of us with this attack, but it also means that if we survive its our win! Doouuuuuuraaaaah!! (Hind) Nuooooooooh!? (Yumir) I rushed over to Yumir, after breaking her posture, I threw her as far as I could with my strength. I felt as if my back was going to break from the weight of the armorhowever, it seems I was able to successfully throw her far enough. Like that, I ran towards the huge fireball myself. Nuah!? (Hind) Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind! (Yumir) The same way I used it in the battle against the Emperor, I used the Shinto Priests high magical resistance as a shield against magic. If we cant dodge it, I should at least keep damage to a minimum!!Besides, even if it comes to the worst case scenario and Im taken out, it doesnt change the fact that itll be our win if Yumir is left. The reason I ran into it myself was to keep Yumir as far away as possible from the radius of its effect. Once the fire settled down, my remaining HP was 1!? I was left with 1 HP!? Im alive!! (Hind) Ooh, what luck! Its the first time Ive seen it in this game, being left with 1 HP! (Yumir) Thishas to be a lie right? The attack I put everything I had inrather that crushing both of you, to think I was unable to defeat even one of you (Herrscha) Herrscha was dumbfounded at the sight of what she was seeing and dropped to her knees, then she finally declared that she was surrendering. Chapter 86 - First match of the semifinals Back with another chapter. Took longer than planned becauseI did start lazing around right after I said I would work on translating chapters. But hey, at least it didnt take me more than a month this time right? Before getting into the chapter Ill have to comment on a certain part of it. In the middle of the chapter Walter will ask Hind if Yumir and Herrscha are like boys. However, in the original text he does mean men. The problem with translating this part of the chapter was that later on Hind does say that they are more like men too, but this time using a stronger word for it. (Think men among men sort of word) As there was no English variant I could think to make this work. I switched the first one for boyish and the second one said by Hind has remained as manly so that the readers can see the difference between both terms. That will be all for the translator notes for this chapter, enjoy. -Thats the end of the match! It was an interesting match where the team with the upper hand kept switching all the time! The winners are Yumir and Hind! (Emperor) The venue was filled with cheers. At the same time the match ended, Walter recovered from his KOd status and stood up while staggering, then he returned to where we were. Then Yumir Its our win. (Yumir) Kuh (Herrscha) She boasted about her win to Herrscha, who was still kneeling. Walter tried to rush over to Herrscha to help her out in a panic, but I stopped him by reaching out with my arm. Master? (Walter) Well, in cases like these just wait and watch. (Hind) Yumir held out her hand towards Herrscha, who was grinding her teeth in frustration. Herrscha was taken aback by such an action and just stared at her. After being forced to grasp the hand that was extended to her, Yumir put in strength and helped her stand up. However, that was a good spell at the end. I love flashy spells like the ones you used. (Yumir) !! (Herrscha) At the sudden words, Herrscha looked quite surprised but she didnt seem to hate it. She fixed her posture in a hurry, stuck out her chest and replied. T-That goes without saying! Its my magic after all! The flame is strong, beautifulthats why, even though I thought that it wouldnt lose to anyoneyour sword skills might be crude, but Ill at least admit that you are strong. (Herrscha) Fun, you sure can talk. Come on, you should give a response to the audience! There are people that are clapping for you too. (Yumir) After the cheers for us died down, the audience started cheering when they saw Yumir helped Herscha. Then Herrscha raised her hand in a dignified manner while Walter did so shily. While doing that, Walter sneakily approached me and said. M-Master! It was as master said, it worked out somehow! Its just thateh, how should I say this (Walter) You mean that right? Its like one of those scenes with men beating each other besides a riverbed. You are not half badI could say the same about yousomething like that? Im getting a bit embarrassed just from watching them. (Hind) Yes, that was it! It played out exactly like one of those situations! Even though they are both female! (Walter) Yup. Well, they are both quick to anger and are simple minded after all. No matter how it would have ended, I thought that it would end well in the end. (Hind) I see, while murmuring that, Walter started walking next to me. Like that, we followed Yumir and Herrscha and left the stage behind us. To leave the area quickly after the match is over is a rule of the arena. So to sum it up, both of their personalities are like those of boys? (Walter) Wait wait, you definitely cant say that in front of both of them you hear me? They will beat you up. Besides, if we were to be more specific, rather than being boyish, I believe it would be more correct to say that they are like men. (Hind) Eh? Whats the difference? (Walter) I have the feelingthe latter one matches their personality better. (Hind) I mean, both of them look like beautiful girls on the outside after all. No, in a sense, you could say that there are 3 beautiful girls right herebut the reality is quite different. Thats why, Walter, Id prefer if you didnt act as if you didnt understand, because the concept of gender will start getting weird when you do. What does it mean to be manly? Well enter a maze where theres no real answer if you do. There will be a break until the semifinals start. There are some players that decided to log out for the time being, but the majority stayed here fearing that they would lose their seats. Since our seats are different, theres no need to worry about that kind of thing, however, all of us didnt log out and were currently chatting. Ah, both of you. First of all, congratulations on advancing to the semi-finals. (Tobi) Congratulations!! (Lyco and Sai) We received those words from Tobi, Lycoris-chan and Cineraria-chan once we returned to our seats. After replying with a Thanks while feeling embarrassed, I took my seat along with Yumir. You sure took your time, did something happen? (Tobi) We accompanied Herrscha and Walter to their seats first. Then, we found out that all the people seated there were members of their guild. (Hind) Umu. Their guild was quite peculiar! (Yumir) We only exchanged short greetings, but since it didnt seem like there was anyone that was resenting us for beating Herrscha and Walter, it didnt seem like they were bad people. Its just that, as Yumir has said, they were certainly weird. Peculiarwhat do you mean by that? Dont tell me that all of them were wearing butler and maid outfits? (Mitsuyoshi) No, they didnt go that far but (Hind) Mitsuyoshis guess didnt hit the mark but wasnt that far off either. All ten of them were seated without leaving any empty seats in between, and the moment Herrscha returned they all stood up and Good work out there, ojou-sama!! They expressed their congratulations like that while bowing their heads. It was kinda impressive how the players seated behind them only felt a bit uncomfortable. Rather than guild mates, they seemed more like subordinates? (Yumir) You are right. Rather than being seated in a row, it seemed like they were seated in hierarchical order after all. (Hind) Hind-san. Could it be that they are doing that against their wil- Nope. I got the feeling that they all adored her, it was kinda scary. (Hind) Ehhan ojou-samaand her servants? (Siesta) I think that with those words said by Siesta-chan absent-mindedly, the reality hit me. Thats right, that was a group made for their Ojou-sama. With the servants supporting her, it was a guild revolving around Herrscha. That was probably what that guild called Sirius was all about. Well, they did look like quite the strong guild, but they did say that they would cheer for us in our next match. (Hind) But that woman, she tried to poach Hind to her guild on our way back you know? Riizu, go over there later and scatter salt over there, salt!! (Yumir) so you mean that they are our enemy right? I feel reluctant to do as Yumir-san says, but fine. Ill make sure to scatter plenty of salt later. In that case, how about I go in front of them and throw salt at them directly? (Riizu) T-Thats a joke right? You are not being serious right? (Selene) It looks like Selene-san is worried but itll probably be OK. Salt is quite the expensive material in TB, in our guild, Im the only one that has some. Yumir should possess 0 gold and Riizu probably wont go through the trouble of buying some just for that. We killed some time while talking about such a silly topic and the arena got lively again. The scheduled time was getting near and when the participants and the Emperor took the stage, big cheers resonated throughout the arena. Oh, there he is, Albert. Dont you think that the reason the interval was so long was their fault? The developers must be crying. (Hind) Well, Aniki is the only one whose matches are extremely short after all. These are the semifinals, theyll probably have a closer match this time. (Tobi)However, as if to betray Tobis expectations, the same thing that happened in the quarterfinals happened in the semifinals. It seemed like the audience was already used to it, even though it developed as they had expected, they still cheered really loudly. Even the Hippopotamus and Falke duo was unable to stop Albert. Muuregarding this match, I have nothing to say. The winners are the Mercenary Albert and Philia duo! .Next up, its time for the 2nd match of the semifinals! All four participants, head to the stage! (Emperor) So fastis it our turn already? Yumir, we are going. (Hind) Good grief, we dont even have the time to take it easy (Yumir) We returned after going to Herrscha and Walters seats, so even if the interval was long, we didnt have much time to restin order to fight in the semifinals, we headed towards the stage again. Chapter 87 Still sort of alive and back with another chapter. Playing some games and such in my free time lately so yeah, Ive been slacking on the translations, but thats nothing new right? Next chapterwhenever I fill up my motivation gauge. Enjoy the chapter. Our opponent for the semifinal match, Licht, was standing before us with his back straightened. He had a handsome face like that of an idol and he had his mouth tightly shut, he gave a different impression compared to how the BBS portrayed him. His hair was fairly long for a guy and even his blue hair would feel out of place in real life, however, it still suited him. Nevertheless, he hasnt been moving at all for quite a whilethis person, dont tell me that Just how long are you going to stay nervous for! You little! !? (Hind and Yumir) Out of nowhere, Rose, the maiden next to him kicked him in the buttocks with all her might. It hurts!! Why are you kicking me, Rose!? (Licht) Shut up! Because you dont get your act together, Im getting mocked too because Im next to you! (Rose) Eh, is that true? (Licht) Yeah it is! You are so thickheaded! (Rose) Ignoring us, or rather, they were having this kind of exchange ignoring their surroundings making us feel quite bewildered. I wonder if this was done to relieve the guy from his nervousness, while it looked like they were having a fight on the surface, in fact, for some reason I could only see it as them flirting in public. Say, Hind. For some reason, Im getting filled with these emotions of wanting to cut them right now without having to wait for the signal for the match to start. (Yumir) What a coincidence, Im feeling the same thing. However, shall we wait for a bit longer? We wouldnt be able to show our faces if we were to be disqualified because of that. (Hind) We looked over their noisy conversation while our mood turned sour. Only the Emperor, whose eyes were always filled with enthusiasm, was waiting for the time to pass as fast as possible. What are we going to do about this? With this cold atmosphere filling the venuewell, even like this, the girls in the guest seats are still cheering for Licht though. Having finally resolved their dispute, Licht awkwardly shifted his gaze towards us. CAh, you are done? We have been ready for a while now. (Hind) M-My apologies, it seems like we have made you waityour Highness, we are done. (Licht) He seemed earnest and it didnt look like he meant any ill will. The Emperor nodded and coughed loudly to set order in the venue. In that case, second match of the semifinals, Licht and Rose vs Yumir and Hindbegin!! (Emperor) For us, when we are against two vanguards, the important factor is for us to not get too far away from each other. Even though Yumirs reflexes are good, its impossible for her to keep stopping two opponents at the same time in a match. There might have been opponents whose blood rose to their head and aimed exclusively at Yumir, but we shouldnt hope for that kind of thing having reached the semifinals. Seyah! Yumir kept them in check by swinging down her longsword. I stood right behind her charging up my MP. Both of them had a small shield and their swords didnt seem that long either, Yumir was going around taking advantage of the reach of her weapon. Hyeh!? This intimidating aura is not something youd think its coming from a fellow knight! (Rose) Rose, on your right! (Licht) Deeeeeeeeeih! (Yumir) !! (Rose) While sticking close to her, Yumir wildly lunged towards Rose. Being unable to block the shock from the impact with her small shield, Rose fell on her back while taking some damage. Against Licht, who came to support her, Yumir kept that vigour up and released a fierce attack on him too. Ooh, this is incredibleYumirs movements have visibly sharpened since our first match. If it keeps going like this, I probably wont receive any attacks for a while. Id like to replenish plenty of MP during this time frame. Licht! (Rose) Nuh! You little! (Yumir) Having gotten back up, Rose counterattacked Yumir with her rapier. Because the distance between them had shortened, Yumir was unable to make use of her advantage in range. Adding to that, Roses attacks were fairly fast, the rhythm that Yumir had built up until now crumbled. Then, having fixed his stance, Licht paired up with Rose in a pincer attack. I stopped charging my MP for a moment and stepped forward while ascertaining the proper timing. Yumir, retreat for the time being! (Hind) Like that, I stopped Lichts sword with my staff. I repelled the sword with all my might and during that brief time, I took some distance along with Yumir Is what well make you think, take thiiiiss!! (Yumir) Alright, take him out!! (Hind) Immediately after acting as if we were retreating, we turned around and attacked Licht. I thought it would have been a direct hit due to him having let his guard down because of our words but You guys play so dirty! (Rose) Tsk (Yumir and Hind) But Rose was already there blocking, after seeing that, we took some distance for real this time. Even if you deceive the pure Licht, it doesnt seem to work against her. My bad, Rose! You saved me! (Licht) I-Its not like I (Rose) While fidgeting due to Lichts words of gratitude, Roses face turned bright red. I wish you didnt turn this scene into some love comedy when its not the appropriate place though I exchanged glances with Yumir and we made the same evil expression. I-Its not like I, its not like I covered you for your sake you hear me! (Yumir) Dont get the wrong idea! (Hind) Having heard that, Roses face turned bright red for a completely different reason. In other words, it was anger. What are you even saying!? I didnt say that you know!? (Rose) We were just expressing your feelings for you, got a problem!?(Hind and Yumir) !! These guys, they are so infuriating!! (Rose) R-Rose! Rose! Calm down! You are falling into their pace! (Licht) Ignoring Licht as he was trying to calm down Rose, who was stomping her feet in frustration, I calmly used healing magic on Yumir to restore her HP to full. Like that, I used buffs on her too and kept casting spells Ah, Licht!! That guy is using magic! Attack him, attack him, hurry up! (Rose) What!? Lets go, Rose!! (Licht) They noticed. However, I finished casting Attack Up on Yumir and then it turned into a four person close quarters fight again. I only used low cast time spells that were hard to interrupt and only cut in when Yumir was going to get hit by dangerous attacks. In this match, my role is more of a middle guard. But I have to say thatthese two are quite strong. Since both of them have shields, their defense is solid, as Mitsuyoshi-san said their coordination is good. Both of their reactions are good so until now, they havent shown fatal gaps in their defense yet. They both look like students though, maybe part of some sport club? Their movements are quite nimble. Like that, the match continued with both sides not taking much damage. It was the complete opposite of Alberts match, a slow battle of endurance. It was something we were used to. A long long exchange of attack and defense continued and eventually Even though that True Self is not attacking us at all, why are we the ones being pushed back!? (Rose) Even though they are so close to each other, they havent bumped into each other even onceeven without looking, they have a clear understanding of each others movements. Rose, its unfortunate but their coordination seems to be better than our- (Licht) I wont accept that! I cant accept it! I mean, we have worked out together that much! Dont stop moving, Licht! The match is not over yet!! (Rose) We started to pressure them. From the middle of the match onwards I only used Healing for our HP recovery so currently our HP kept decreasing bit by bit, however, they were losing theirs at a much faster pace than we did. However, looking at them fight side by side with their sword, even if Im no Tobi, it made me a bit envious. The action of releasing sword skills mutually that is happening in front of me right now is something that wouldnt be possible to do with a vanguard and a rearguard. What do you think, Yumir? (Hind) Nuh? What do you mean, Hind? Hah! Deyah! (Yumir) The image you had in mind when we first started playing this game, should be something close to their fighting stylewhoops! Or thats what I was thinking! (Hind) Something like thatthere! Its such a foolish question! Its true that I would love to use combination sword skills with you butseyah! Our current fight style is the best and strongest! No matter what anyone else says! (Yumir) She sure said something that made me happy. The battle continued without big changeshaving been left with only a bit of HP, Licht and Rose started showing signs of impatience. Having reached this point, there was only one choice for them to make. Rose, we have no other choice! We are going to use that! (Licht) Got it! I believe in you, Licht! (Rose) In other words, they will try to use a powerful skill to turn the tables around. These two are balanced typeswhich means that their skill with the highest offensive power is that one. Both of their MP was reduced drastically and their swords were overflowing with a dazzling light. The skill called Judgement Sword, was a magic sword skill of the light element that dealt a big amount of hybrid damage. It had a persisting effect but the effect didnt last long. In other words, it was a skill similar to the Hakkei?Yabu that Walter used. In PvP it was particularly effective against Heavy warriors, but with Yumirs current HP, she would definitely get knocked out if she took a direct hit. Interesting! Ill take you on! (Yumir) In response, our vanguard here declared that while spreading out both of her arms. Most likely, Yumir plans to use Burst Edge on one of them. With Yumirs current level of concentration, would she be able to do something against them even if its 2 vs 1? I was hesitating thinking that I might have to start casting Revive as insurancebut I opted for Quick. Yumirs aura was still going strong and the sparks and its intensity made the air tremble. Lets trust her here and bet everything on her. If we cant deal with a situation of this level, well end up facing Albert aniki anyway and wont be able to win. Lets go, Rose! (Licht) Yes! We are ending it with this!! (Rose) Hahaha! Come at me!! (Yumir) The sensation that Yumir had sharpened her senses was transmitted to me through her back. It was a pincer attack with no way to escape, at the first sign of a gap she could rush towardsYumir strongly rushed at it and swung her longsword. The sword slipped through the shield and the torso was stabbed throughthen magic power exploded. Immediately after Rose was violently blown away towards the wall, Lichts sword approached. The shining sword grazed Yumirs head but even with just that, her HP bar decreased to dangerous levelshowever, her counter hit Licht directly. I used Quick right after Rose was blown away and just now I finished casting Entrust on Yumir. The explosion happened againand Lichts body was flying following the same trajectory as Rose and stopped moving as he fell on top of her. The audience that had fallen silent during the exchange of blows burst into loud cheers. Chapter 88 Hey there, back with another chapter. Things will get a bit busier for me now and in the foreseeable future so free time will overall decrease for me. Then again, I still plan to release chapters from time to time but sadlythe frequency is expected to be low. Nothing much to say about this chapter so Ill let you just read it. Enjoy. Oooooooooooh!! Fierce, so fierce! Thats right, this is the type of fight I was hoping for! I got the urge to join noooow!! If you so wish for, I could go and join right- (Emperor) No thanks, please spare us. (Hind) You plan to kill us!? No way! (Yumir) I would rather not get into a fight with the Emperor right now. He made a face as if all his spirit had deflated, but even if we fought the Emperor in our current condition, I can already see how it would end Besides, if the Emperor doesnt announce the victors, the system will keep those two in their current KO status so Id prefer if he hurried it up. Ill try to hint at it with my gaze. Ooh, I forgot! The victors are Yumir and Hind! It was a splendid display of teamwork! With this, the pairs participating in the finals have been decided butI cant contain my excitement towards these 2 contrasting pairs! Wahahaha!! (Emperor) After announcing the winners, the Emperor left the stage in high spirits along with his laughter. From this moment until the finals, there will be another short interval. On the other side, Rose shook off the hand Licht worriedly offered her and stood up. After glaring at us, she descended from the stage alone as she gritted her teeth in frustration. Licht bowed to us and disappeared after chasing after Rose in a panic. Well, I guess theres a lot going on but we probably shouldnt have to worry about it. Being left alone on the stage, Yumir and I silently high fived. Once we did, due to the barrage of cheers, the realization that we had really won started to come down to me. Unknowingly, we started to smilehowever, theres still a match left. Alright, Yumir. Shall we head back to where everyone else is? (Hind) Yeah, you are right. We have to prepare for the next match. (Yumir) On the hallways that lead to our seats, a multitude of players tried to talk to us. The outline of their comments were congratulating us on our victory and commenting about how our opponents put up a great fight. Since bettings were involved, there were also bad mannered players that were pouring abusive comments on usthe surrounding players looked at them coldly and for the ones that got out of hand they just reported them to the admins to silence them. You could say that the players hated cold water being poured on this festive mood. Hero-chan! Yumir-san, congratulations! Good luck in your next match! You did it! You guys are the pride of Sala! Oh, the last person was a player from the desert? Or was he a NPC? I wonder which one it was. Regardless, hearing that type of comment makes me happy. Though in this case, most of those comments are directed towards Yumir True Self! Make me a remote weapon too! Me too! Please, let us defeat an area boss together! !? (Hind) Like that, since a while ago, words for me that I couldnt understand were mixed in with those sent to Yumir. They were coming from both genders too. Towards them, Yumir replied displeased. This guys remote weapon is only me! This positionI wont hand it to anyone else, I definitely wont!! For sure! (Yumir) Sorry, I cant understand why you are having that kind of possessiveness (Hind) Why!? (Yumir) I mean, I could understand if she was talking about her position as my partner, but what the hell is the position of a remote weapon? I had this feeling that something wasnt right but unfortunately, there was no one here that said anything about it. This interval wasnt long enough for us to log out, but it was possible for us to gather our thoughts. We returned like that to our seats and I looked at the familiar faces absentmindedly. After thanking everyone, our talks were wholly focused on the next match. The first one to start the conversation was Mitsuyoshi-san. So, do you have a plan to deal with Albert? Hind-kun. (Mitsuyoshi) Ive more or less thought of a plan. I dont think the rate of success would be high though. (Hind) Eh!? You have a plan!? (Tobi) Its not really something Id go as far as to call a plan though. Its more like something to make us be able to fight on more even ground. (Hind) Well do something about their attacks and make it a battle of attrition. We have to take the flow of the match no matter what and create the flow ourselves. That being said, the minimum requirement is for us to even out the power difference. First off, well defeat Philia-chan and make it a 2v1. If we dont, well most likely lose after all. (Hind) You are saying that quite lightly, Hind-kun. Wont it be quite difficult to create that 2v1 situation? Most likely, both of them will come at you at the same time, right? (Selene) Itll be fine, Selene-san. We have only 1 chance at making it work, but we can make Albert Aniki powerless for a few seconds. Well do something about it in that time. (Hind) From now on, it all depends on Yumir. Albert Aniki is not someone at the level I can deal half assedly, so once it becomes 2v1 Ill fall back and concentrate on supporting. This all depends on how well Yumir will be able to deal with him. In that regard, I think shes in top form today, so Im having these expectations that we might be able to do it. Once I summed up things, Tobi looked upwards while putting his hand on his chin as if he was thinking about the previous match. Its true that Yumir-donos movements in the Licht fight were quite nimble. The way she dealt with those 2 at the end made her seem like she was a mini Albert. (Tobi) Im not that macho you know? (Yumir) He didnt mean it that way (Hind) He probably meant that the way they fought was similar. Its true that as Tobi said, getting to the same level will be impossible but it gave the feeling of being something close to it. Yumir-san was so cool!! That last counter attack was so.!! Like this! Or maybe like this!! (Lyco) Yes. Lyco and me were so excited that we even unintentionally stood up. (Sai) As if taking advantage of Tobis words, both of them started to praise how well Yumir moved in the match. Lycoris-chan, who was copying Yumirs movements by moving her hands was quite cute. However, if you praise her too much shell go into ecstasy so Id prefer if she kept it in moderation. Just as I thought, the more you praise her, the more her cheeks loosen So these two are fans of Yumir-san? They sure have weird tastes (Riizu) Then, Riizu poured cold water over them with such words. Yumirs expression quickly switched into that of anger. Hey you, are you trying to pick up a fight with me? I dont mind doing a preliminary fight here before the finals you know? Ah? (Yumir) Can you drop it? You are in public now. So unsightly. (Hind) Maybe Riizu did it so that Yumir returned to her previous state, but she probably also meant it. Though, she could change the way she says thingsno, its fine for now. Ill give her a sermon later but we dont have the time for that now. I quickly made a strategy and explained it to Yumir as carefully as I could. It was one in case we were able to quickly develop it into a 2v1 and another one in case we werent able to. Something like that. Also think of when we dont succeed, always (Hind) Wait wait, Hind. You are saying this in hopes thatIm the one that will be able to make an advantageous situation right? If we lose the initiative, will we really be able to win like this? (Yumir) Nuh (Hind) Its true that Im depending on how the fight goes at the start Now that she mentions it, itll end up with me leaving it all to Yumir, so you could say that the only part where Ill have to give my best is at the conclusion. I got it. Lets not take the time we fail into consideration. In those cases we would have to make up for the difference in strength after allleave it to me. (Hind) Umu, we are going to win! You and me, both of us! (Yumir) Ooh, you sure are fired up. Senpais, do your best~. (Siesta) With Siestas lazy way of encouraging us, our fighting spirit vanished in thin air. It was a bit exhausting, but since we calmed ourselves down a bit, I think it was good for us. Being sent off by the cheers of the friends surrounding us and the words of encouragement of the people around us, we headed towards the final stage. Chapter 89 Missed me? Hope everyone is doing well these days. Well, first of all, Ill give an apology because this chapter was actually half done for a long while. Though it ended up piling up dust as time passed. Anyway, new chapter after all this time. Got some good news, as we are reaching the climax of the arc, I personally would like to end this arc in a more timely manner so readers and myself dont have to wait too long to read the ending to it. For that reason, Ill try to speed up the releases until the arc ends, which means5 more chapters or so after this one. What happens after thator even if I manage to do it in a timely manner is up to my mood swings but Ill try to do my best to translate them. However, Ill be busy this weekend so there probably wont be any progress during that time. Think that will be all for now, hope to see you again soon with another chapter. A giant sword, armour, huge body and a pair of eyes filled with an intimidating aura. Mercenary Albert stood up in front of us amidst the immense amount of cheers accompanied by a small girl. When standing facing him like this, the intimidating aura is nothing to scoff at. Surprisingly, the first ones to address the other party were them. Its been a while, Hind. (Albert) Yeah, you still remember me? (Hind) I wouldnt forget. The sword Im currently wielding was handed over to me by both of you after all. (Albert) As he said that, he wielded the greatsword without a scabbard at the height of his abdomen to let me see. Rather than handing it over, we did sell it to him though. I mean, none of us would be able to wield it normally in a fight and its stupidly long after all. With this sword that you handed to me, Ill defeat youplease dont think badly of me. I dont feel like losing for a second time. (Albert) I wonder if it was just him acting or his real nature, but he gave off a menacing smile while saying that. Ooh, scary scary. If this wasnt a game, Id definitely not even think about facing him. Can I ask you something first before we get into the fight? Albert (Yumir) What is it? Yumir (Albert) Well, the one that hasnt been talking at allwas she called Philia? Whats your relationship with her? Im aware that it might be impolite of me to ask this butIve been really curious about it. (Yumir) Now that she mentions it, there was someone in the BBS saying that they were relatives. The people that disagreed with him were many, honestly, other than him there were not that many that Towards that question asked by Yumir, Albert readily replied. Shes my daughter. (Albert) Whoa, they dont look alike at allthat kind of reaction was probably what Yumir and I had at the same time. How do you even manage to give birth to such a lovable girl with such a big and rough looking man? I couldnt help but start comparing their faces. If theres someone that is able to make out that they are parent and child out there, I feel like he would deserve some praise. I know what you want to say. (Albert) Eh, wellha-hahaha. (Hind) I could do nothing but try to dodge the topic by laughing. It seems like Albert was used to people having that reaction. Buta mercenary that brings his child along, huh? Is thatsomething new? The fact that she looks more like my wife is nice and all, but has never been that talkative just like me. Philia, go greet them. (Albert) Nice to meet you. (Philia) You could say that this girls lack of pleasantries and 0 friendliness was something refreshing. However, there was something that bothered me when looking at this girl. Right now it was close to 10pm. I believe its a bit late for such a child to still be up. You dont mind letting her play a game at such a late time? Isnt your daughter an elementary schooler (Hind) IIm a middle schooler, not an elementary schooler. (Philia) Eh? Ah, Im so sorry! My bad! (Hind) Im not mad. The fact that Im short is the truth. (Philia) Is that so? Since she was silent and her expression didnt change at all, I thought that she got mad. For kids her age, they usually tend to get mad when you treat them as a child after all. Having heard my words, Albert said this as a follow up while placing his hand on top of Philias head. I had a growth spurt suddenly during high school. Im pretty sure this childwill also be one of the late bloomer types. Thats why, you shouldnt mind it that much. (Albert) I see. Theres someone like that among the people I know. Though that person is in the basketball club, once that person grew up in high school their position switched from guard to center. (Hind) Hey, can we start already? Is that basketball thing you are talking about that important? Id like to watch the match between you as soon as possible. I believe the audience would want that too? (Emperor) There was this feeling of impatience coming from the audience. Guess we got too absorbed into our talk. Whoops. I apologize. Please start the match. (Hind) At this rate itll be a repeat of the Licht fight. If its just talking, we can do it as much as we want after the fight. Since the Emperor is quite lenient, we couldnt help but start talking to our opponents before the match. Umu. Make it start! (Yumir) We are ready over here too. (Albert) (Philia) Once everyone had reported that they were ready, the Emperor gave a big nod. Luckily, all my nervousness went away while we were talking. No matter what happens now, this is the last one, we can only give it our best having gotten this far. In that case, last match of the martial arts tournament sponsored by the Empire! Beli Confederations Mercenary Albert and Philia vs Sala Kingdoms Yumir and Hindstart!! (Emperor) At the same time the signal was given, all of us started moving while wielding our weapons. A few seconds after the match started, we decided to stick close together because our opponents would want to try to take us one on one. However, the fight wasnt really going in our favor Heavy sounds of metal clashing came from in front of me and Yumirs face was filled with anguish. Nuaaaah!! This is tough! (Yumir) Dont exchange blows forcefully! Dodging takes priority, try to aim for some counters! (Hind) Both of them have heavy class weapons. We are at a disadvantage in a contest of strength. If we were to take a hit directly, we wouldnt be able to endure the damage they would deal. Their attacks were filled with strength and devoid of any strategy, I charged up my MP slowly while evading them. I wont be able to survive if I get distracted for even a split second. The one aiming for me was Philia-chan, Albert was mainly aiming for Yumir. Weve been able to avoid an instant defeat by supporting each other until now, however, Yumir should be close to her limit. Just have to get the minimum amount of MP to get it workalright, it should be barely enough for it! Time to start casting! Yumir, switch with me! (Hind) !! OK, Ill leave it to you! (Yumir) Having switched places with her, I leaped in front of Albert. Seeing this situation, Albert was filled with doubt for a moment, however Have you come to die? Hindo! (Albert) Tsk!! (Hind) He decided to attack me right away. Calm downno matter how bad Im at attacking, this is something I cant afford to miss. His chest and arms bulging with strength, he mowed down with the heavy sword at a speed that would make your hair stand on end. Its alright, Im seeing it clearlythats the spot! Time to activate Shining! !!?? (Albert) Uwhoa!!That was so close! (Hind) Right after finishing casting, I backstepped to take some distance from the greatsword that missed its mark. How did it go? Gaaaaaaaaah!! (Albert) Albert groaned in anguish as he covered his eyes. Without having any time to celebrate, I shouted at the same time as I saw that happening. Yumir! (Hind) Ooooooooooooooooh!! (Yumir) !! (Philia) Yumir activated Act of Desperation and rushed towards Philia-chan. With a ferocious rush of attacks, her HP was being shaved off in an instant. Since that previous event with the sand, I was able to ascertain certain things, it seems like if a players eyes are damaged, itll take quite a while for them to recover. Theyll eventually heal naturally given some time, but this Shining in particularwhen I tested it out on myself, my field of view turned pure white and I was unable to look at my surroundings for about 10 seconds easily. I have no way if itll have less effect than anticipated, but I found out that this skill can be used as a sort of debuff thats limited to PvP. Since I saw no mention of it in the BBS and walkthrough sites, this is something I havent told anyone yet and saved up as a trump card. !! Yumir, hurry up!! (Hind) Philia, are you alright!? Philia!! (Albert) While staggering, probably relying on sound, Albert headed towards Yumir while brandishing his sword. I had taken the chance to take some distance and charge my MP and I cast Attack Up on Yumir. Philia-chan was giving it her all by defending herself with her Axe, however, Yumir was currently overwhelming her with her physical build, the way she moved and her concentration. And finally This is the end!! (Yumir) Auh! (Philia) Yumirs Heavy Slash landed on her petite body and she slammed violently against the floor. Her HP flickered and disappeared, then she stopped moving. Philia!! (Albert) With bloodshot eyes, Albert gave a shout that resounded throughout the entire arena. It went wellhowever, this is where things get real. Chapter 90 With this we have concluded all the fights of the tournament arc sono more fights for a while I guess? Kind of tired so I dont really have much to say here. Enjoy the chapter. Albert showed agitation once he saw Philia being knocked out, however, he calmed down immediately and took some distance from Yumir. Has he still not recovered his vision completely? Yumir, pressure him! (Hind) Got it! (Yumir) He doesnt have any methods to heal himself. If we can shave off some of his HP now, well be at an advantage! Deaaaah!! (Yumir) Nuh! (Albert) With the same vigor she defeated Philia-chan with, Yumir attacked incessantly. But the damage was too shallow, with his superhuman reflexes, Albert only received a bit of damage from each hit. Is this guy a monster? No, I should believe in Yumir and do what I have to do. I used all my buffs. After having all our stats increased, I healed myself and Yumir and she went back on the offensive. After that, I held my position and charged my MP up. Now youve done it! (Albert) Along with a voice that would make you shudder, the greatsword flashed at a speed that you wouldnt think was possible. Yumir took great damage and was blown away towards me. Immediately after, he gave chase and swung his sword down. The sound of something being crushed resounded throughout the stage. Yumir dodged it by jumping sideways and I had already retreated the moment Yumit took damage in order to not get involved. To begin with, this stage was a breakable object? Its the first time Ive seen it happening. Since his movements are back to the usual, it seems like Albert has fully recovered his sight. For you to avoid a hit to your vitals, that was a nice reaction. However!! (Albert) Hind! Heal me please! (Yumir) Im already on it! (Hind) Just before they started fighting again, I cast Healing Plus on her. Yumir recovered a big chunk of her HP and the small portion needed to reach full HP was supplemented by Healing. Right after, the longsword and greatsword clashed. 1 time, 2 times, each time they exchanged blows the surrounding air trembled. Thus, about five minutes have passed since the fight turned into a two versus one. This has already turned into the longest fight of the tournament, but the winner was still not decided. Alberts Fatal Slash and Yumirs Heavy Slash were released at the same time. Uoooh!! (Albert) Haaah!! (Yumir) The attacks were released along with a war cry and sparks flew as Yumirs sword was overcome by Alberts strength. Following that, she was ruthlessly slashed from the shoulders down. As a result, Albert took no damage and Yumir was down to 50% HP. Damn you! (Yumir) Having trouble? (Albert) The fight had turned into a battle of attrition that we are good at. However, if it keeps going like this, itll end up with us being defeated because Ill be unable to cycle through Revives. Shes already been revived four times right after dying, Yumir has been able to somehow endure during the long CD for the 2nd and 3rd times but Got you! (Albert) !! (Yumir) Albert had gradually gotten used to Yumirs movements, so the times shes been getting hit has increased. Even though Yumirs movements had grown even sharper due to her unrelenting concentration, the physical specs of Albert were out of this world. She had already used Burst Edge twice, but unfortunately, both of them had missed. Obviously, the second Shining had also missed, he avoided it by guarding his eyes with his arm. Even then, we had managed to drop his HP to around half by piling up small hits, however, it hasnt decreased for a long time now. Isnt there a way to deal with this situation? No, I should focus on healing before thinking of that. Yumirs remaining HP is at around 30% now. Since Healing Plus is on CD, lets place a Area Heal carefully. Damn it, even though they are both wearing heavy equipment they are moving really fastthere! (Hind) Being somehow able to endure until the casting finished, Yumirs HP was back to full while she continued fighting. However, is this girl so focused that she hasnt noticed the magic circle at her feet? She hasnt looked away from Albert at all. The arena is also unusually silentthey are all holding their breaths while looking at both of them fighting. I want to get her a win somehow but We wont lose! Like hell we are going to lose! We are winning! We are going to win! (Yumir) !! (Hind) The shout that seemed to come out from deep inside Yumir surprised me. I want to get her a win? Thats wrong, right? How long am I going to look at this fight with cold eyes as if it didnt concern me? That this is just a game or the fact that we dont lose anything even if we losethose are just excuses. I also want to win. With both of our strength, against this man. In that case, guess theres only one thing for me to do. (Hind) I muttered that to fire myself up and looked towards the seat where Riizu was sitting at. I mean, she did plead to me quite strongly to never use this skill after all. Strangely enough, even from this distance, I could clearly see the facial expression of my little sister. She probably guessed my intentions and her eyes were wavering with a hint of sadnessbut eventually, she gave me a small nod. I got her permission. All thats left is to Yumir, give me twenty seconds! (Hind) !! I got it, leave it to me! (Yumir) When I gave her the instruction to endure for twenty seconds without healing, Yumir replied like that. The buff from that skill is on another level from normal buffs. If Im going to use it, Ill cast all the physical buffs again! I have no idea what you are scheming butI can already see through your movements. Theres no way for you two to win anymore! (Albert) Hah, I wonder about that. Dont go looking down on us that much! (Yumir) Got enough MP, first off Ill start with Attack Up and Guard Up to raise Yumirs stats. Then I used Shining to distract Albert a little bit while I used Healing to recover my own HP a bit. Healing Plus just came off CD so I used it to completely recover Yumirs HP. And to top it off, I used Entrust to transfer all my MP to Yumir Im leaving the rest to you. (Hind) !? Hind, what did you just say!? Say it again! (Yumir) I didnt reply anymore and went onto casting without losing any time. The MP cost is 0, instead, it will use all of my HP. At my own feet, a magic circle bigger than the ones for normal skills appeared and a dazzling light was released from it. Sacrifice was activated and the light that came from my body coiled around Yumirs and enveloped her in a golden aura. N-No waythis light, dont tell me!? (Yumir) Dont look back! Look in front of you! Guh (Hind) She has no time to be looking at me. My HP was being reduced at a rapid pace and the usual feeling of having my body being torn apart permeated my body. Yumirs profile showed her bitterness but she didnt turn back and focused on what was in front of her. Yes, thats fine. Interestingif I cant beat both of you in this state, I wont be able to say I have taken my revenge for last times loss! I wont do anything underhanded like waiting for the effect to run out! Come at me with all youve got!! (Albert) Here I comeeee!! (Yumir) The hero aura mixed in with the golden aura and the cluster of light danced around Yumir. With an intensity on a completely different level from before, the fierce sound of their swords clashing resounded throughout the arena. Haaaaaaaaaaaah!! (Yumir) Uuh, guh! Nuooooooh!! (Albert) That sound quickly turned into another form. Due to the overwhelming difference in defensive powerafter seeing the fact that she was taking below 10% damage even when she took a direct hit from Alberts sword, Yumir stopped being careful. She rushed in while taking being damaged for granted and took some of Alberts HP. Its Yumirs usual offensive style that she used before the finals. Alberts HP bar, which had stayed frozen for quite a while, started to show signs of moving again. Ooooooooh!! (Albert) Albert, who saw that he was at a disadvantage, also stopped defending. He activated Berserker Edge and took some of Yumirs HP. Furthermore, red light enveloped his sword. He had started charging up Rampage, a powerful skill of the Heavy Warrior class. Yumimy bodymy voice too, its not coming out (Hind) If Yumir takes that skill head on even in her current state with Sacrifice, she will definitely get knocked out. However, my warning couldnt reach her. Rather than that, my view has turned blurry and I cant see whats going on properly anymore. In order to reply to Alberts actions, Yumir used Act of desperation and took a thrusting stance to use Burst Edge. After seeing that last thing, my body crumbled on top of the magic circle. I cant put any strength into my limbs. Wait, please wait. Its too soon, just a bit more. Let me hold out until the match is decided at least However, my HP bar heartlessly kept going downand immediately after I heard the familiar sound of an explosion along with the sound of a slashalong with the sound of my surroundings, I was unable to feel anything anymore. What I felt when I came to was warmth on the back of my head and back and someones breathing. What was there once I slightly opened my eyes was Yumir looking intently at me while looking as if she would cry. Whats with that face? Dont tell me, did we lose? (Hind) I wonder if my voice is reaching her in the middle of cheers that feel like they would destroy your ears? As a result, Yumir denied my question by shaking her head like a child. I see, so its not like we lost. Uh? If shes denying the fact that we lost, doesnt that mean!? After standing up in a panic from my previous position of being hugged by Yumir, I started to look around me. The first thing that came into view was a greatsword thrust deep into the stage with a multitude of cracks in it, and on the other side of it Was the body of the Mercenary Albert, lying face down with his arms and legs stretched out and showing no signs of moving. Chapter 91 Thats the end of the match! The winners of the tournament sponsored by the Empire areYumir and Hind!! (Emperor) When the Grados Emperor declared that with vigor, the audience raised their voices even further. I was taken aback by such an occurrence and a shock ran through my back suddenly. Ahahaha! We won, we won Hind! Whats wrong? Be more happy! (Yumir) I wonder where that sad expression of hers has gone to. Yumir was now leaning on me with a joyful look. I still couldnt really register what had happened so I tried to ask about it. Yumirwhat happened at the end? (Hind) Nothing! I just landed a strike on him before he was able to, thats all! (Yumir) hahaha, seriously? (Hind) This girl, at the very end, was able to exceed anikis reaction speed. According to Yumir, the effect of Sacrifice ran out right after she hit him with Burst Edge. Since I wasnt able to see that happening with my own eyes, Im thinking about watching the replay later on. Then, the Emperor ascended to the stage and continued his speech. A being with outstanding strengthlike the warrior Albert, people have been fascinated by such men since times immemorial. However, the sight of you two overcoming him through cooperation was beautiful! Im extremely satisfied with how you combined your strengths! Im filled with so many emotions! (Emperor) While hearing such words, Albert and Philia slowly stood up on the other side. After retrieving his greatsword, he came over here along with Philia. I wonder what was going on, Yumir who had been on my back until now, got off and went towards Albert. It seems like Ive lost againhowever, it was fun, you two. Congratulations on winning. (Albert) Thanks, Albert! You sure are doing well considering you lost! What are you, an adult!? (Yumir) At the very least, hes more mature both physically and mentally than Yumir Since Yumir made such an odd statement, aniki scratched his face while not knowing how to reply. At that moment, the small girl that was standing next to Albert, came towards me with upturned eyes and said absentmindedly. Congratulations. (Philia) O-Oh. Thanks, Philia-chan. (Hind) Is she really congratulating us? This childs expression doesnt change at allI cant tell if shes frustrated or not at all. We exchanged handshakes right there and the audience applauded Albert and Philias efforts. By the way, I have something concerning which Id like to consult you. Will you hear me out? (Albert) What is it? (Hind) He bent his body and talked to me in a low volume. What would he even ask of us in this situation? Just when I was having those doubts, the content of the request was such I could understand where he was coming from. Albert anikis request was to openly congratulate us on our victory as the losers, therefore increasing his value as a mercenarysomething quite calculating that you wouldnt expect from someone with such a face. Hes going to appeal to the public right now, so he wants our cooperation. Even if you didnt do that, I believe Albert is plenty famous right now? (Yumir) As Yumir had said, having reached the finals while showcasing that way of fighting, I doubt there is any player out there that would see that and have doubts about his strength. Wouldnt he get even more requests in his mercenary business now? However, he proceeded to say that it wasnt good to only show his strength. Its just in case. If I can make them appreciate me for my personality, that would make getting requests much easier. After all, if I only showed this appearance of mine, that would just make it easier for people to be scared of me. (Albert) So in other words, hes saying that he doesnt look friendly enough? Well, the only thing we have to do is Climb on top of him so its not like we mind at all. Im fine with it. If we are going to do it, we should do it now that the Emperor is waiting for us. (Hind) You have my thanks. Yumir, are you fine with it too? Im sorry for this request, even though we are the ones that lost. (Albert) Umu, Im fine with it. However, are you really going to lift us? (Yumir) Having received our agreement, Albert Aniki bent over without replying to Yumirs question. It seems like he thinks its easier to show us than replying. Timidly, we sat on top of those broad shoulders and the floor became distant in a single moment. Uoh, hes really carrying us! So high! So scary! (Yumir) This is some impressive strengthwell, we knew that already. Even though we should be around 100kg combined (Hind) Aniki calmly stood up while carrying a high school student on each of his shoulders. He supported both of our bodies with his brawny hands to make sure we didnt fall off; since he told us that it was fine to grab onto his head, Yumir and I placed our hands on top of his short brown hair. Whats with this sense of stability? Even though we are on top of an unstable surface like his shoulders, I dont feel like Id fall at all. Then, as if to congratulate us, he made a lap around the stage while facing the audience. Yumir also waved her hand in response to the cheers of the audience. Its true that with this, even though he was the one that lost, hell look like a tolerant player that is congratulating the winners to other people. Philia-chan was also slowly walking next to Albert. This view sure is from quite highah, Riizu and the others are waving. Hey! Like that, once we finished our lap, the Emperor raised his hand as if he was giving a signal to someone. Then he declared in a loud voice. Everyone, congratulate the winners!! These people are the winners of our tournament!! (Emperor) The moment he said that, mages wearing all black like those set in towns appeared around the spectators and began to chant a spell. I doubt its something like an offensive spell butoh!! Ooh!! Hind, fireworks!! Look, fireworks!! (Yumir) They even come with confetti. Quite the big production value. (Hind) So pretty. (Philia) All this had been prepared for both of you. Makes me feel kinda jealous. (Albert) Just when we realized it had turned into night, firework magic was released from the mages hands and burst in the air. Those particles of light filled this unrefined arena with flowers of lovely colors. The audience, particularly the female players, looked at this event with eyes glittering with delight. Ladies and gentlemen, was that to your liking? In that case, lets proceed to the award ceremony! Yumir and Hind, please come to the front!! (Emperor) When the Emperor made that announcement, what looked like a group of imperial soldiers got on top of the stage and lined up the Trophies simultaneously. We got off Aniki and stood up in front of the Emperor. The flashy award ceremony ended and I was now dozing off in my own bed. Being in such a calm environment made it seem as if the previous events had all been a lie. However, that horse we got as a prize sure was splendid. Its name wasGrado Turk I believe? The horse had such a splendid build that it looked as if it would easily carry a player with heavy equipment. I should say, as expected of a mount of the highest grade. We even got two of themif you thought about it, I guess its a given that they would prepare two of them just in case there are disputes within the pairings. With that being said, farewell!! If the opportunity arises, lets meet again!! (Emperor) Once the award ceremony ended and the Emperor declared that, the players were forcefully returned to the towns they came from. After being separated from Mitsuyoshi-san, Tobi and the three girls, and returning to Sala, we went back to our guild home and did a modest celebration. That being said, its not like we could drink sake or anything, so we just talked for a bit while drinking herbal tea and eating sweets. Itll take a while for Tobi to return from the Mahl republic, so theres the chance that well do another celebration once everyone is gathered in the guild. As for the prize of the tournament, since everyone in the guild contributed to our win, we plan to divide the money evenly at another date. As for how we would deal with the horses that were sent to the stable in Sala automatically, we decided to set them as guild property so everyone could use them. After saying good night to Rise and mom after logging out, I went back to my room and crawled into my bed. Even if its just a game, winning sure feels good. I covered myself with my futon to not get cold and turned around. Then my mouth spontaneously turned into a smile. Thanks to everyone, it seems like Ill have a good dream today Chapter 92 Didnt think youd see another chapter so soon right? Had some time on Sunday so I got to work on another chapter which to be honest, my brain didnt appreciate. Dont expect the next one to be out so fast but here you have another one to enjoy in the meantime. As there are lots of transitions between real life and chats/BBS, I tried separating them with separators for clarity. Ill point a couple stuff out that might confuse some readers in this chapter. The first one is a part where they talk about guardian spirits. The quote the user is referring to is one from what we could call a spiritualist website. The quote is ʤ˱둤ޤ衭 and is roughly translated as Theres a spirit behind your back. The second one is a line towards the end where a username says that They get along so well while dead. This line might confuse some people but remember they are spectating the fight real time and try to remember what happened at the end of that fight. Anyway, that will be all, enjoy the chapter and Ill see you next time. (Please save me from having to retype all the Nameless X in BBS chapters) Its been three days since the night the event ended. Since I had gone all out in that tournament, I hadnt felt like logging in for the past two daysnot. It was just that I didnt have the time to play games when we were in the test period. However, even though tests were over, Miyu and Rise wont be able to log in today. So the three of us that were left didnt log in either and I was currently chatting with them while lazing around in my own room. This is fun in its own way so Im actually quite satisfied with it. Since its just an exchange of text, I believe that Selene-san is able to post messages in a relaxed manner. The moment I took a sip of the lemon tea cup that had steam coming off it, the screen showed changes. Tobi@In love with TB:Now that I think about it, you two Tobi@In love with TB:Have you seen the BBS after the event ended? Selene: Just the one for the live coverage, havent checked the rest. Hind: What are you even doing during your testsyou sure can take it easy. Tobi@In love with TB: (bb;) I-Its fine, I have avoided failingprobably! Tobi@In love with TB: So, have you seen the thread that predicted that Hind-dono would win? Tobi@In love with TB: The truth is, the current state of that thread is kinda cruel. Tobi@In love with TB: Im enjoying their misfortune since Im the one that won after betting everything on that gamble but Tobi@In love with TB: Like the rates showed, most of the people bet on Aniki winning so Selene: Ah, I see Tobi@In love with TB: Its pure chaos!! Go see it, both of you!! Hind: Thats mean. Tobi@In love with TB: Oh well. Even though you say that, you are going to go see it right? Right? Hind: Well, that I amwait a moment. Selene: Ah, while you do that, Ill go afk for a bit. Ill take a look at the BBS once Im back. Hind: Since its good timing, shall we set a time to do it? Selene: Thanks, is after thirty minutes fine for you? Tobi@In love with TB: Got it! Ill be going to the bath in the meantime. Hind: Got it. Selene: laters. Lets see, guess Ill go to the toilet in the meantime. Since I had already finished the house chores, there wasnt much else to do other than taking a bath. What should I do with all this free time? Im homenii-san? Nii-san, where are you? (Rise) Whoops, this is bad. Did I get the time Rise would return wrong? I thought she would still be in cram school and would be late though? I hurriedly went downstairs and went to greet my little sister. I reheated dinner for Rise and time passes really quickly as I did that. For the past two days, maybe because I used Sacrifice in TB, Rise has been in a pretty bad mood. Though I think shes kind of back to normal now Even though at that time, she reacted as if there was no other choice. If I asked her about it, I was met with the argument that Even though I agreed to it in my head, my feelings about it are another matter. Thanks for the meal. Nii-san, when are you taking a bath today? (Rise) Hmm? Lets seemaybe around two hours from now? Rise, you ca- (Wataru) Obviously, Ill go after nii-san. Ill go in after you are done. (Rise) Oh, I see (Wataru) Just like always, I guess. In the meantime, Rise said that she would be studying in her own room. After turning off the lights in the living room, we went back to our own rooms. Those twoare still not back, I see. I left a message that I had returned in the chat and since it was a good opportunity, I went to take a look at the thread of the live coverage that Selene-san mentioned. The thread should still be thereoh, there it is. Since theres not much time, it should be better to only check the parts where they talk about our matches. Final stageLive coverage thread of the finals 6of the tournament!! This will be a thread providing live coverage of the finals in the PvP tournament currently ongoing in TB. Lets be well mannered. The next thread will be made once we reach over 800 comments. In the case a new thread isnt made, the responsibility will be on the person that replies next. If its not made, please slow down on the replies. 606Nameless KnightIDKnEBy8c Hero-chan is here!!!! 607Nameless Shinto PriestIDEFGMUjV True Self is here!!!! 608Nameless ArcherIDei9Nj5x After only one day, hes already being called True Self LOL. 609Nameless MageIDyeMjzm2 Seems like there are lots of people that call him that So, whats the players real name? 610Nameless Heavy WarriorIDingsx8B Hind? 611Nameless Light WarriorIDBwWN72s Kaind? 612Nameless Martial ArtistIDAKQ3Qjn Hasomething-san 613Nameless MageIDyeMjzm2 @610,611,612 You guys Then, whats Hero-chans name? 614Nameless Martial ArtistIDAKQ3Qjn Yumir-chan 615Nameless Light WarriorIDBwWN72s Yumir-chan 616Nameless Heavy WarriorIDingsx8B Yumir-chan! (Wataru) I hung my head in front of the monitor. Even though our names were well known, I cant hold back my tears because of the fact that I was being treated like that. Like that, I scrolled down to the start of the match. 623Nameless Shinto PriestIDF7EGY3C Its sad to see a fight between fellow magic type classes 624Nameless Light WarriorIDcwLmkTM If you are going to say that, all Light Warriors have already been eliminated. 625Nameless Martial ArtistIDUBwsD2Z And Walter-kun is the only Martial Artist remaining you know. 626Nameless ArcherIDbJibGHE The only class we can say will reach the finals for sure are Heavy Warriors. 627Nameless Heavy WarriorIDkDPbrtp Ah, the remaining magic type classes are the rearguards of these two duos? No matter who wins this match, theyll have a hard time in the next match. 628Nameless KnightIDFgEtMFz The whip that ojou-sama is holding is a rare sight, right? 629Nameless MageIDQHLyQBF I think they are rare. I tried using one but it was hard to hit. 630Nameless ArcherIDbJibGHE I see So if I join Sirius, I can get whipped by that ojou-sama too!! 631Nameless Shinto PriestID33w3sNH Eh 632Nameless Heavy WarriorIDkDPbrtp Silently takes distance from 630 633Nameless MageIDQHLyQBF Ah, Hero-chan went straight for the ojou-sama as the match started. 634Nameless Light WarriorIDppzyb6F Even Walter-kun went back to support the ojou-samaits over. 635Nameless ArcherIDiLEiDmn Eh? Whats over? 636Nameless KnightIDFgEtMFz SAME THING AS ALWAYS 637Nameless Heavy WarriorIDp2NJtZr I mean, shell get revived anyway. 638Nameless Shinto PriestIDC4DTdVu @635 Youll understand once you see it. The moment they left the True Self alone, ojou-samas team lost any chances of winning. 639Nameless Martial ArtistID3c7eVSw Theyve entered their usual pattern, huh? 640Nameless Martial ArtistID3c7eVSw Is what I thought but Hero-chan just got deleted in a flash! This is bad! 641Nameless Light WarriorIDZ82TDmB No good. Its unusual for True Selfs revive timing to be off. 642Nameless Shinto PriestIDC4DTdVu Hurry up!! 643Nameless Heavy WarriorIDp2NJtZr Dodge it!!! 644Nameless MageID9XNZGcF He dodged it!? Even though it grazed him! 645Nameless Light WarriorIDZ82TDmB Hes so good at dodging LOL Its such a waste not playing a vanguard when hes so good at it. Thus Hero-chan was revived. 646Nameless Martial ArtistID3c7eVSw Walter-kun was sent flying!! This shows you how scary it is since Albert sent Edward flying even further LMAO. 647Nameless ArcherID63BywyA Yeah, he even did it with a basic attack 648Nameless MageIDDJ4SzrY Oh, its Raging Flame. Whoa its so big!! Its way different than minewhat an incredible difference in magic attack 649Nameless Light WarriorIDZ82TDmB Wait, why is the True Self acting like a shield LOL. Shouldnt it be usually the opposite? 650Nameless Heavy WarriorID7LKruAX Shinto Priests have the highest magical resistance among all classes after all, ah Ah 651Nameless KnightIDdiSVBQ5 One millimeter left, his HP is at 1 dot LMAO. 652Nameless ArcherIDWin4kec Ah, the ojou-sama surrendered. 653Nameless Light WarriorIDZ82TDmB Well, it was impossible at that point. Cant help it. 654Nameless MageID9XNZGcF So, next up is Licht. Think this duo will make it? 655Nameless KnightIDEzuej9g That duo is really good at taking care of rear guards. Wouldnt it be difficult? 656Nameless Normie Extermination CommitteeIDQwgdrMJ As long as Licht loses, I dont care. 657Nameless ArcherID63BywyA Someone weird popped up LMAO. Your guild master also lost against Hero-chan in the group stages! So this is up to the Herscha fight. Since we are talking about a Shinto Priest and a Knight here, we had a good match up due to our high magic resistance. I feel bad for Herscha, but I believe her only chance to turn around that disadvantage was Walters Hakkei Yabu Well then, the semifinals against Licht and Rosewere in the next threadaround here. ThrobbingLive coverage thread of the finals 7Muscles!! This will be a thread providing live coverage of the finals in the PvP tournament currently ongoing in TB. Lets be well mannered. The next thread will be made once we reach over 800 comments. In the case a new thread isnt made, the responsibility will be on the person that replies next. If its not made, please slow down on the replies. 322Nameless Heavy WarriorIDXyefGru It has started. 323Nameless Martial ArtistIDDaum94n So close! Hero-chan and True Self are so close to each other! 324Nameless MageIDaxR3CL8 Hes like a guardian spirit LMAO. Behind you theres asomethingLOL. 325Nameless Light WarriorIDxZEzbKG A positioning fitting for the name, True Self-san LOL. 326Nameless ArcherIDC9X5XcS Wait, shouldnt Shinto priests be the ones doing the exorcising? 327Nameless KnightIDJwkf2Bz Why is Hero-chan not hitting True Self even though shes brandishing that sword so close to him? 328Nameless Heavy WarriorIDXyefGru Hey, He has an Auto Guard (staff) against Hero-chan LMAO. 329Nameless MageIDaxR3CL8 Then theres this surprise attack combo provoking them. Roses face is bright red LMAO 330Nameless KnightIDisn5Hcn I-Its not like we are provoking you! LOL 331Nameless ArcherIDC9X5XcS Both of them really have nice personalities. In the meantime they have already recovered to full HP, so mean. 332Nameless Martial ArtistIDDaum94n Oh, they have started fighting again. 333Nameless Heavy WarriorIDe8p2g9B However, this is sure a display of how big of a difference in their cooperation there is 334Nameless Light WarriorIDxZEzbKG Licht and Roses coordination is amazing!! Go explode!! We feel like idiots now for saying stuff like that LOL 335Nameless MageID9yFs3Fy They cant touch True Self at all. This is pointless, theres no way they can win. 336Nameless KnightIDKbWuMzs So its another upseteven though I bet on Licht and Rose 337Nameless Heavy WarriorIDXyefGru Its 8th place vs 2nd place so its a big upset. 338Nameless ArcherID48fegEX They are using Judgement Sword but it feels hopeless. If they can survive these, itll be True Selfs teams win. 339Nameless Shinto PriestIDTFHiNs2 Uwah, True Self is leaving it to Hero-chan and backing down. Is that going to be fine? 340Nameless ArcherIDi5DtzMb Is he not going to prepare a revive? 341Nameless Shinto PriestIDhy9AkRK No, the size of the magic circle is different. This is a mid class spell, revive is a high grade spell. 342Nameless ArcherIDi5DtzMb Seriously? After getting this far, I dont see the point of taking risks. 343Nameless MageIDiSdGRab Alright, she did it!! 344Nameless Light WarriorIDdz7WBBi Hero-chan is so fast!! 345Nameless Heavy WarriorIDm8Kci9m Uwahthey are getting so along while dead LOL. Did True Self know it would end this way? 346Nameless MageIDXYpT39R True Self has a good ability to look at the battle or rather, he has a high ability to analyze how the battle progresses soprobably. And it wasnt Revive as @341 said, it was Quick. 347Nameless KnightIDKbWuMzs Its overmy 500k G 348Nameless ArcherIDxXeSY6T Cheer up LOL. 349Nameless Martial ArtistIDARWiZEf Those two Burst Edges in a row are nasty 350Nameless Shinto PriestIDhy9AkRK Though both of their MP will get depleted. If they miss, its over. 351Nameless KnightIDei4rWNA Its finally time for the finals. These two have the element of surprise, actually, Im having some hopes. 352Nameless MageIDiSdGRab I mean, they have been showing us such nice matches so cant help it LOL. 353Nameless KnightIDei4rWNA But their finals opponent is that Albert So, this is everything up to the semifinals. That leaves the finals butbefore that, I drank the lemon tea that got cold and went out of my room to go brew some warm tea. Chapter 93 Sorry for the lack of updates after I said I would work more on these. Well, what can I say, Ive been sort of busy and too tired at times to motivate myself to translate leaving these chapters in limbo for a long time. But heres another chapter for you to enjoy. While Im not exactly going to stop translating, I dont think I can make any promises about the time releases will come anymore (because I clearly cant really keep them at this point). Thats why, if theres any experienced translator out there that wants to take over the series and pump out chapters in a more consistent manner, feel free to contact me and as long as I can see the series done justice I wouldnt really mind handing the rein over to someone else. But like I said, Im not exactly stopping for now, but theres no telling what Ill do in the future. (I would personally prefer if I could slack and someone translated the series for me) Anyway, I might be saying this but dont let it bother you too much for the time being, just letting some of my thoughts out there. Enjoy the chapter. Moving forward, I saw the part about the finals and took a peek at the thread about who they were expecting to win the tournament that Tobi mentioned. I left the cup on top of the table and went back to looking at the thread on my pc. Muscles and Silent girl vsLive coverage of the finals block thread 8Dark Elf and True Self This will be a thread providing live coverage of the finals in the PvP tournament currently ongoing in TB. Lets be well mannered. The next thread will be made once we reach over 800 comments. In the case a new thread isnt made, the responsibility will be on the person that replies next. If its not made, please slow down on the replies. 575Nameless Heavy WarriorIDehTJB56 Havent they been pressured like crazy from the start!? 576Nameless Light WarriorID7TkBGjx Since Alberts blows are so heavy, she cant really exchange blows directly. Hero-chans arm would get torn off! 577Nameless MageIDC6n7gbL But its better than it being an instant defeat right? 578Nameless KnightIDgrUfx4b Being happy that now that they got to the finals they havent won instantlyLOL 579Nameless ArcherIDZeHHGWU Albert is the only weird one! The other players are not at fault! 580Nameless Shinto PriestIDmppTGzy Their opponents in their group managed to beat Philia-chan after trying really hard butonly despair awaited them 581Nameless MageIDJnujkpa How do you deal with this? LOL 582Nameless Heavy WarriorID7Wiae3a For the time being, they have to wait for True Self to charge up his MP. They seem to be aiming for something while enduring after all. 583Nameless Shinto PriestIDmppTGzy Wait, he hasnt charged up his MP that much but hes moving already? 584Nameless Martial ArtistID29TXfpX Wait wait, what is he planning to do by going to the front as a Shinto Priest in this situation!? 585Nameless Light WarriorID7TkBGjx He went forward for a moment, then went back. Whats wrong with True Self? 586Nameless Heavy WarriorIDh4DdRD2 Wait, why is Albert pressing his eyes as if hes suffering? 587Nameless ArcherIDZeHHGWU What happened? 588Nameless MageIDMLrGD4U Can someone that understood what happened tell me, please? 589Nameless MageIDgWP9kcE @588 I think he got hit in the face by a Shiningbut Im not too sure. If someone else saw it, please tell me. 590Nameless Shinto PriestIDkLQKdCQ Since there was no magic circle, theres no doubt that it was a beginner spell. I believe the light he released with the chant matches that of Shining. I doubt he would use Healing in that situation. 591Nameless MageIDgWP9kcE Thanks But to think that Shining had the effect of blinding people 592Nameless Shinto PriestIDJ6bQuTk Since it doesnt have that kind of effect on monsters I never noticed 593Nameless ArcherIDRhunZ4f Did no one try it in PvP? 594Nameless Shinto PriestIDXJkp2YD If there had been some sort of PvP event when the game launched there might have been some people that would have tested it out, but the way Shining is used right now is to basically stop spell chants with its hit stop. 595Nameless ArcherIDRhunZ4f Ah, in order to do that, you would usually aim at the body. Even if you were to get a headshot with it, the spell is too weak to begin with so you would barely do any damage. 596Nameless MageIDTuDSk69 I think the problem lies in the fact that the tournament was held at this time. Shining is a beginner spell which utility has already cemented itself by this point. 597Nameless Martial ArtistIDPif4Vcp As a normal attack it would only hit if your opponent is rather slow, and you would surely miss if you were aiming at the eyes. Even more if your opponent is that Albert. 598Nameless Shinto PriestIDm9CZLYY So since he wasnt wary of it, even Albert got hit by it, huh? 599Nameless Heavy WarriorIDeAVJzji But it lasts so long, that blinding effect. As expected, in that condition, he wont be able to hit even if he swung that greatsword around. 600Nameless Light WarriorID7TkBGjx Ah, While we were bothering with what True Self did, Philia-chan 601Nameless Martial ArtistIDPif4Vcp Got incapacitated. Well then, wonder what theyll do from this point onwards. 601Nameless ArcherIDmedMkPR Albert is so scary when hes screaming. 602Nameless KnightIDujtUy6f Usually, you would have lost by the point you are left alone 603Nameless MageIDMLrGD4U I fear that this is where the real thing begins. 604Nameless Heavy WarriorIDeAVJzji Hero-chan went to pressure him immediately. True Self seems to be focusing on supporting this time. 605Nameless ArcherIDFKzpD98 Even if he went to the front, there would always be the fear of getting one shoted after all. Since Albert doesnt seem to be aiming for that, its a given that it would go like this. 606Nameless Light WarriorIDEVLFUkG So he has confidence that he will be able to beat them head front 607Nameless Martial ArtistIDHVx774d Hmm? However, since the opponents can heal, wouldnt he lose if they just endured? 608Nameless MageIDMLrGD4U Hint: Cooldown. 609Nameless Martial ArtistIDHVx774d Ahright. 610Nameless KnightIDujtUy6f As you said that, Hero-chan got knocked out. 611Nameless Shinto PriestIDKzSCaYB The timing on the revives are spot on as always, but whats important here is the speed at which they can repeat this process. 612Nameless ArcherIDsAwg6DR They cant cycle through revives at this pace, right? Even though they are pressuring him, the damage they are dealing Albert is so sad. 613Nameless Shinto PriestIDXJkp2YD They wont be able to cycle through them. Leaving aside the first two by taking Quick into account, the problem is the 3rd one and onwards. 614Nameless Heavy WarriorIDr8SExSt It all depends on how hard Hero-chan works, huh After this, it turned out into a battle of attrition for a while right? I remember us dealing some damage at the beginning but after a while, it turned into a harsh situation where we couldnt deal any damage. The conversation in the thread felt like it had turned into a loop so lets skip through some comments 882Nameless Light WarriorIDQbctknm Its enoughenough, just give it a rest! 883Nameless MageIDa2i8RJp Alberts HP hasnt decreased for a while. 884Nameless Martial ArtistIDHVx774d Isnt this checkmate? 885Nameless KnightIDujtUy6f Even though Hero-chans movements have gotten quite good Isnt this Albert guy just too weird? 886Nameless Heavy WarriorIDr8SExSt I kind of cant help but tear up when I see Hero-chan standing up no matter how many times she gets beaten up. 887Nameless Shinto PriestIDKzSCaYB The mood in the arena is similar to that. Even though theres a lot of people that have bet on Albert. 888Nameless ArcherIDsAwg6DR Even if the audience sides with her, this difference in strength is 889Nameless Shinto PriestIDtWA4p73 Even True Self is standing there with a grim expression that we have never seen. 890Nameless MageIDMLrGD4U After healing and buffing he can only watch after all. Albert is also wary of Shining. 891Nameless Light WarriorIDEVLFUkG Oh? They both seem to be talking? 892Nameless ArcherIDRhunZ4f Yup, their mouths are moving. Though, we cant hear anything because of the cheers. 893Nameless MageID6znDNgz I wonder if they are going to do something, it would be kinda sad if they were talking about surrendering. 894Nameless Martial ArtistIDPif4Vcp I dont think anyone would want them to surrender. So, do your best!! 895Nameless KnightIDnsMN58a Ah, since Hero-chan is smiling, it seems to have been something else. That being said, her movements have gotten even better! 896Nameless MageIDMLrGD4U True self is even refreshing the buffs that still have time left. I wonder what hes planning? 897Nameless Shinto PriestIDTPCUzaH Aiming for 2 successive Burst Edges? 898Nameless Heavy WarriorIDh4DdRD2 She has already used Burst Edge a few times, but they havent landed. 899Nameless KnightIDnsMN58a Its the type of skill that bursts only if you get a hit after all. Theres no point if it doesnt hit. 900Nameless ArcherID3cAhju6 Hmm? True Self just healed himself now? 901Nameless Light WarriorIDEVLFUkG His HP has been like that since the time they beat Philia-chan. Is there even any point to doing that? 902Nameless Heavy WarriorIDVSWxgi4 He even transferred all of his MP to Hero-chan? 903Nameless Shinto PriestIDp8PnypE Dont tell me 904Nameless KnightIDy52T3rH Is he going to use it? Is he going to do it? 905Nameless ArcherIDKdMmxrU Eh? What do you mean? 906Nameless Heavy WarriorIDe4wEXN3 Uoooooooooooooooooo!!! There it is!! Sacrifice!!! 907Nameless Martial ArtistIDc4h4kUF Uwah, they finally are going for itthat was at the back of my mind the entire time. 908Nameless KnightIDnsMN58a When the buffs effects and Hero-chans aura combine, its so divine 909Nameless Light WarriorIDN4M4yHW Yeah, Hero-chan has gotten even more beautiful. So good. 910Nameless MageIDz8tafRW Wait, is the buff time going to last? I remember it being really short from that video from the event. 911Nameless Shinto PriestIDp8PnypE True Selfs HP is decreasing so faaaaaaaaaaast!! As always, he also looks like hes suffering a lot. 911Nameless KnightIDnsMN58a Wait, Hero-chan is pressuring him now! 912Nameless Light WarriorIDCHdJdca Even Alberts heavy blows are hardly having any effect! Sacrifices buff effect is so amazing! 913Nameless Heavy WarriorIDVSWxgi4 Ah, True Self has collapsedis she going to make it!? 914Nameless Martial ArtistIDPif4Vcp Goooooooooooooooo!!! 915Nameless KnightIDnsMN58a Uoooooooooooooooo!!! 916Nameless MageIDMLrGD4U Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! 917Nameless Light WarriorIDQbctknm She pierced through hiiiiiiiiiiiiiim!!! 918Nameless Shinto PriestIDKzSCaYB It buuuuuuuuurst!! She finished hiiiiiiiiiim!!! 919Nameless KnightIDy52T3rH Oooooooo!!! Its an upset!! A big upset!!! 920Nameless Heavy WarriorIDh4DdRD2 Everyone is so excited LOL But me too, Uooooooooooooooooooo!!!! 921Nameless Light WarriorIDEVLFUkG I wonder whyeven though all the money I bet on Albert is gone, I dont care anymore. Hero-chan congratulations!! True Self congratulations!! 922Nameless ArcherIDmedMkPR With this, the Emperor and the developers should be happy. 923Nameless Martial ArtistIDc4h4kUF @922 The Queen will be too. 924Nameless KnightIDeG7L5GJ Now that you mention it, these two were from Sala. So they are going to get praised by that QueenIm so jealous. 925Nameless Heavy WarriorIDh4DdRD2 Well, that was an impressive performance. Beats having Albert win the whole thing, it was fun. Though I also lost all my gold!! 926Nameless ArcherIDFKzpD98 Congratulations, congratulations! Well then, guess Ill log in and farm some gold until maintenance comes 927Nameless Light WarriorID7TkBGjx Everyone lost their bets LMAO 928Nameless MageIDz8tafRW I mean thats a given. The odds at the end were 1.2 you know? 929Nameless Shinto PriestIDXJkp2YD I guess most of the players Lost then. 930Nameless KnightIDnsMN58a Ill go check the thread about who people expected to win. 931Nameless ArcherIDY6rKmmV Me too LOL 932Nameless Light WarriorID7TkBGjx Yeah, Im interested too. Especially the reactions of those that said that Albert would definitely win. 933Nameless Heavy WarriorIDVSWxgi4 Theyll also talk about the gold they bet. Ill take a look later too LOL. Well, guess Ill also take a look. If I kept looking at this thread, I wouldnt be able to stop myself from smiling after all. Tobi seemed to have had a lot of fun with the thread that predicted who would win, I wonder what happened over there Chapter 94 - A Thread Predicting the Winner of the Tournament [Soon] Grado Empires Dueling Event Tournament Winner Prediction Thread 5 [Final]. This is a thread to predict the winner of the PvP tournament being held on TB. You can also chat about betting rates, stakes, etc. here. Use the slippery slope correctly and with good manners! The next thread should be declared and started by >900. 444: Nameless Archer ID: rVrsSLc Geez! My 400,000! 445: Nameless heavy warrior ID: gtxTa9Y @444 m9(^^) pugya (loud sound) 446: Nameless Mage ID: JYzmCTk 447: Nameless Archer ID: rVrsSLc @ 445 What the hell are you doing? Who did you bet on? 448: Nameless Knight ID: Vxkkjzg Dead bodies 449: Heavy warrior with no name ID: gtxTa9Y @447 Im all in on Alberto. Whats up? (??`) 450: Nameless Archer ID: rVrsSLc Oh, oh 451: Nameless Priest ID: eMPTFk5 Im sorry, I didnt catch your name. to Alberto. 452: Nameless Light Warrior ID: nfGciEc (I cant say I cant tell you that I bet 50,000 on the brave girl in this atmosphere) 453: The Nameless Priest ID: nfGciEc @452 Hes the big winner! Kill him! 454: The Nameless Archer ID: ajXBadu @452 50,0002.5 million Roughly two horses, wow, thats amazing! 455: Nameless archer ID: Mt2KuXW Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Dont do the math! 456: Nameless Mage ID: zwHfrDd Well be even more miserable if we dont. 457: Nameless Light Warrior ID: mE2Bhx2 If you have a setting that allows you to bet on multiple things like this (䣻أ) Ugh 458: Heavy warrior with no name ID: 7ySS6CH It was a single winner, and it was limited to one pair. Give up now. 459: Nameless Knight ID: 4ZrbT2R The only thing that was free was the stakes, so it was all doom and gloom. 460: Nameless Martial Artist ID: xP9A6QU There were a good number of people in this thread who thought it was a cheap tile and blew it all, right? 461: Heavy warrior with no name ID: 8uzTGts Thats me. (150,000) 462: The Nameless Priest ID: EHJtbx2 Wai also (100,000) 463: Nameless Light Warrior ID: mE2Bhx2 500,000(䣻أ) 464: Nameless Archer ID: tmJRQPs The world wide web has become a hangout for defeated soldiers. 465: Nameless Heavy Warrior ID: JCxEGRS Youre already a defeated soldier when youre not in the tournament. Youre going to lose even more from that. 466: Nameless Martial Artist ID: TZKTtUE @465 Stop kicking the corpse. Im going to cry. Im really going to cry. 467: Nameless Knight ID: aApQNJG I mean, some people arent even in the tournament to begin with! Thats enough! 468: The Nameless Mage ID: SFfBFFF I cant say to the brave girls who worked so hard, Why are you winning? but I cant tell you this, but Why are you winning? Oh! Whoo-hoo-hoo! 469: Nameless heavy warrior ID: SFfBFFF Im telling you, wow. 470: Nameless Archer ID: PKa2kMB Its great fun to be a bystander whos not betting against anyone. If it had ended with Alberto like that, the thread wouldnt be like this. 471: Heavy warrior with no name ID: 8uzTGts @470 Shut the fuck up! If youre a chicken who hasnt even tried, stay out of it! 472: Nameless Mage ID: m5GZCJN @470 Get out of here! You have no right to be in this thread! 473: Nameless Knight ID: c387pMp @470 Go back to your nest! And dont come back! 474: Nameless archer ID: 8A2mVHJ @470 If you look closely, youll see that my ID is PK! Dont come to a message board and try to PK me! 475: Nameless Light Warrior ID: Rph5ac3 Youre in a rough spot. I dont mind, but dont go off on me in the other thread. 476: Nameless Knight ID: c387pMp Then Ill spit it all out here! I bet 200,000 Gs on the Richt duo before Albert! I hate him! 477: Nameless Martial Artist ID: TZKTtUE Oh, you mean because you dont like it but you think you can win? 478: Nameless Knight ID: c387pMp @477 Thats it! Theres no other reason to bet against him! Fuck you! 479: Nameless archer ID: bxEgrb2 On the other hand, if you bet on the brave girls, youre not popular and you feel sorry for them. A lot of people said they were cheering for you instead of offering you something. Of course, there were a few people who were aiming for the big hole, but 480: Nameless Priest ID: fQLTWsy Abnegation is a good old saying. 481: Nameless Mage ID: mpK9zCx I only bet 10,000 Gs to support him. Its made me happy. Thank you, brave girl. Thank you, body. 482: Nameless Knight ID: c387pMp @481 Goddamn it, whoa, whoa, whoa! Im so full of misery! 483: Nameless Priest ID: zBsfcUV It ended up being an event that cut into the players possessions at a tremendous rate. 484: Nameless heavy warrior ID: 3SSAWgy Apart from the betting, though, the content itself had a lot of interesting matches. I want to be in the main game next time. 485: Nameless Light Warrior ID: eFkTKNX If theres another tournament Ill have to think better before I place a bet. 486: Nameless Mage ID: PDL645B I can feel the depth of the darkness on the web where they dont say they will never bet on the next one. 487: Nameless Light Warrior ID: eFkTKNX @486 Ill win next time! Ill definitely make up for my loss! 488: Nameless Archer ID: 3PxLihp Its a common phrase for people who are into gambling. Yeah, it was definitely something Tobi would have enjoyed. He bet us 200,000 Gs, so he must have gotten a refund of 10 million Gs. It must have felt so good to be on top of the world. And thats when the chat screen finally responded. Toby at TB: Im back! Hind: Oh. Anyway, I saw it, the example thread. Toby at TB: Oh! What do you think? Hind: It was terrible. Tobi at TB: I know, right? (b?b*) Hind: Im just a little impressed that everyone seems to be having so much fun with it off. Selene: Yes, youre right. The people who seem to have a real grudge against you and Hind, who won. Selene: There were people joking about it, but no one was there. Hind: Oh, Serene, welcome back! Tobi at TB: Welcome back, that I am! Selene: Yeah, Im back. Selene: So TB said that many players have pretty good manners. Selene: I think. Compared to other games. Hind: Now that you mention it, Im sure youve heard of the jokes during the tournament. Hind: I think it was kept down to the point of not being vulgar. Tobi@TB: Thats where the management is concerned. Tobi@TB ni Shutsokuke: Its an all-ages game, that it is. Tobi@TB: GMs rush to the scene at a very fast pace, that they do. Tobi at TB: I think they want to keep the frontage wide open. You know, I made one GM call during the first Turtle Eve and it was pretty quick to respond. I hope that the management of this site will continue to take a steady approach. They say that if you leave cheaters and bad-mannered players behind, youll be out of business in no time. Im getting to know more people in the game, and I personally think Id like to have a long and relaxing relationship with TB. Selene: So I feel comfortable recommending it to girls like Licorice and the others. Hind: Well, Alberto even brought his daughter, Filia, with him. Tobi@TB ni shireru: Eh! Filia-chan is my brothers daughter! Hind: Huh? Didnt I tell you? Tobi @ Head to TB: I havent heard! Tell me more! Selene: Those two are parent and child ? Oh, really? After that, the three of us continued to gossip endlessly not only about TB, but about other games as well. The night passed with chatting until Rize came to my room asking if I had taken a bath yet. Chapter 95 - New Events and Migratory Bird Policy Meeting Toby came back to the desert two days after we resumed logging in on TB. In the meantime, we spent our time as we wished, with no particular goal in mind. Yumir and I did some preliminary research on the cultivation of farmland. Riizu is buying materials and studying to make items. Selene went about her business as usual, blacksmithing. So, why is Yumir down, that he is? I hope you can guess by looking at the bottle lying in that guys hand. ? Yumir is lying face down on the floor of one of the rooms in the guild home, with the remains of the potion bottles lying around her. And ignoring this, Riizu mixes the herbs at her own pace using a mortar at the table. I dont know. I dont know, Yumir said suddenly, What does a recovery potion taste like? I dont know. Ah, ah. I know what you mean. You mean you drank? Correct. I heard the regular portions were good. She was in a good mood and drank one after another, and this was the result. She was just watching me and Liz dispense the medicine, so I can understand why you were bored. Well, first, . Oh, Im up, that I am. The first potion tasted like a nutritional drink. But this antidote ugh . Dont throw up, okay? I dont know if you can throw up in games, but dont ever throw up! Im fine. He rubs her back and gives Yumir some water, which is precious in the desert. Push the bitterness down your throat with this. Shes drunk on camels, shes drunk on drugs, what the hell, really. No one would ever guess that this is the winner of the tournament. Its an utter abomination. Its stupid. No doubt about it. What the hellC ugh! Dont scream. And before that, dont try to force yourself to speak until you calm down. The antidote was bitter and smelled like a strong herbal medicine. By the way, the effects of recovery medicines are the same whether you drink them or pour them over your body. Volunteers have already verified this, so this is simply due to Yumirs curiosity. But youve bought an awful lot of materials, that you have. Tired from the long trip, Tobi slumped down in his chair and looked at the herbs on the table. As well as medicinal herbs, there was a large collection of mixing tools. This room is also a kind of workshop, different from the forge. I wonder if I should call it the apothecary? In addition to mixing, it can be processed in various ways, including grinding, drying, and heating. Well, Ive got plenty of money on me at the moment. I just need to make a few things and get some experience. Its cheaper to just make them from the materials on the trading board than it is to buy them from the NPC store. Ive only just started, though, so the added effects are nowhere near as good. Oh, I see. Then what is this unfamiliar purple liquid bottle over here? It doesnt look like a potion. Its poison. When Tobi heard the word poison, he retracted his outstretched hand. Basically, most potions are clear blue or green, but this potion is a murky purple. Oh Yumir, be careful not to drink this one by mistake, that you will. Even I wouldnt eat something as dangerous as that. Yumir replies, breathing slightly raggedly, as if he has recovered a little. If you get poisoned, the condition itself can be cured with Recover, but I dont even want to imagine what your throat will look like if you drink it. By the way, Riizu seems to be better at refining poisons than I am. If anything, she is struggling more with the recovery medicine. Im better at restorative medicine, so we could share the work completely. Its possible that Riizu will improve in the future, so well have to wait and see what she does. Now that Tobis back, well all get together. Tobi, go get Selene. I think shes at the forge. Yes, sir. So, where are Lord Hind and the others? Well clean up here and then go. Riizu, who had been concentrating on mixing the medicine, looked up and answered that question for me. The contents of the mortar in Lizs hand are a stagnant purple color C or is it poison again? Id be happier with a recovery potion than a poison potion. No wonder I thought I was well equipped with gloves and a mask. Yumir is haha. Its just like this. Please, Tobi. Ugh. So, were going to get together for a quick guild policy meeting. I think Ill prepare something light for Yumir to eat as well. Im feeling a little less than full, so the timing is perfect. Hahahahahaha! Fuuuuuck! Yes, yes. Then get on with it, Guildmaster. Hmm. Hind, you do it. Youre throwing me under the bus. Todays menu was a fruit sandwich made with fruit from the market and fresh cream on bread. The refreshing taste and aroma of the fruit refreshes your mouth. After eating it, Yumir immediately became energetic and pushed me to facilitate the meeting. The place was the common room of the guild home, where everyone was relaxed and drinking herbal tea. So Ill do it. Lets see, today, the next new event has already been announced Its an item contest, isnt it? I thought this would be a good place for you to show off your skills, Secchan. Oh, yeah. Im going to try to get some sort of weapon or armor out, but what about you guys? This information is based on the announcement on the official page. After the grueling combat events, it seems that the next step was to hold an item contest to balance out and allow the main production players to be active. The contest is divided into different categories, the first one that catches the eye is the weapon and armor category, which focuses on performance. Other categories include costumes that emphasize the appearance of the wearer, items that heal, items that interfere, items that temporarily increase abilities, and unusual and useful items. Our guild is clearly omnivorous, right, Guildmaster? Mmm. Im going to actively participate in every event, without thinking about what Im not good at! Thats how it is. This time, I think Ill mainly support Selenes blacksmithing, and the other members will each display something they like, what do you think? Tobi and Riizu nodded at the suggestion from me and Yumir. It is a shame that there is no cooking category this time, but lets hope that will be held soon. So, I guess well be focusing on production for a while. Yumir is mainly in charge of cultivating the farmland, so if youre available, wed appreciate your help. But your first priority is to gather materials for Selene-donos smithing, that it is? Thats right. Well have to explore the unexplored areas together. Yeah, thanks. I hope you find something. It would be much easier for Selene if she could find some rare metals, and if she could get some jewelry. Shes very good at what she does, and I think her choice of materials will make a big difference in the outcome. Well, thats about it. It seems that there are no objections, so Tobi, Riizu and Selene, you go work on your ideas for items to be displayed. Mmm? That means that Hind and Ymir are going somewhere? Oh hey, Im here to welcome the new inhabitants of the desert. Thats what Im talking about! At our words, Tobi put a further question mark on his head. I opened my mouth again to explain the details. TN: This story is more difficult to translate than others and requires more effort to understand. I machine translate and only edit enough for me to understand and enjoy the stories. I am not prepared to spend the hours it takes to properly edit each chapter. Chapter 96 - The Famous Horse Gradturk I see. Lord Licorice and the others are at . Yes, yes. You said you wanted to come to the desert, so we thought wed pick you up. Im going for a spin in Gradturk!So one night at two days at the most should be enough! Oh, Ive only seen that horse at the awards ceremony, that I have not. Do you mind if I go with you to the stables? So the three of us went to the stables. It was decided that Lise and Serene would remain at the guild home. It was decided that Riizu and Serene would remain at the guild home. They will return to blacksmithing and blending respectively. But why dont all the guildmen go out to meet him, that I dont know? Tobi mutters as he leaves the platform and walks through the city. On the road and in the city, players we passed would notice us and wave or call out to us. This happens a lot right after a tournament, but Im sure it will subside soon. It would be nice if the NPCs would give you a discount on their products, though, since you are supposed to have won on behalf of Saara as well as the players. And as for Tobis question about why the five of us didnt go together, it was obvious. Lets figure out the maximum number of people in the party. Well have to beat the field bosses while raising the girls levels. Ah, yes. The party is limited to five people, so its no use having all of us there, that it is. Its our friend to begin with. It makes sense for us to go here, doesnt it? Im a friend of a friend, that Im delicate, Selene is shy, and Liz is incompatible with Siesta, that Im not. Either way, if two people are going, its going to be us. While we were talking, we arrived at the stables. Tobi looked around and immediately found it. Thats whyC Its huge, that it is. When you said great horse, I imagined a slender, thin horse. Well, its the emperors horse, so I guess it makes sense! They stand out, compared to the other horses and camels. The two Gradturks were both black horses with fine, fluffy manes and sturdy bodies. In the camel-heavy stables of Warha, they graze as calmly as if they were masters. Despite its rather sluggish appearance, it is a famous horse, and once it starts running, it is extremely fast. It takes about half the time to get from Waja to Maiya by camel. Well, hes a big horse, so brother Alberto would be a better fit. Its not for us to say, though, since we took that opportunity away from him. Thats true, that it is. It would look great if my heavily armed brother rode it. But if this horse is light enough, two people can ride it,, or even three, cant they? Now that you mention it, two men might be okay, three women might be okay. The Gradturk has that much size. Even Tobi, who had never seen one before and didnt know much about running, was impressed by its sturdy appearance. Well, Id better get going, Hind. After completing the formalities with the NPC who manages the stables, Yumir puts the harness on Gladturk. As I was talking to Tobi, I followed suit. Yeah, I guess so. It wouldnt be good if we were late for the rendezvous. Have a good day, that I do. Mmm! Im off! With Tobi seeing me off, I set out into the Luqiyah Desert toward the Grado Empire. First, we headed for the border via the oasis city of Maiya, followed by the wilderness city of Baska. The Gradturk is ruthlessly good, but it has less stamina than a camel, so it needs to take frequent breaks. When we arrived at Maiya, we had to make sure to water and feed the animals. Now I am the wind! Move it, Gladstark! Dont get excited and go to ! I know! Dont worry! Nevertheless, as I sit on its back, I know exactly how it feels. Not that I was dissatisfied with the camel, but this sense of speed was going to be addictive. The scenery flowed backwards at high speed. Since its a desert, there are few landmarks, so its hard to tell how far youve come. Gradturk kicked powerfully at the sand and went forward, forward, forward. I guess theyre tolerant of the desert heat. Oh, I see. If you look at that thing, its Oh, its so fast. As I muttered and zoomed in on the map in the menu, it was easy to understand the speed at a glance. I see a straight line towards the city of Maiya, quickly crushing the distance that was so far away. This is only my third time on the Gradturk, so there are many things I havent fully grasped. Hind, lets race to Maiya for a change! Competition? I mean, theyre the same horse in terms of performance in the game, so wouldnt they be tied? Well never know unless we try! Lets go! Oh, hey! Yumir kicked the horse in the stomach and accelerated. I regripped the reins of my own Gradturk and hurried after it. Maiya was already in front of me, and I could faintly see the city beyond the mirage. Why are you running ahead of me, why are we losing ? As it turned out, I overtook Yumir on the way and arrived at Maiya first. Now we pay for the use of the oasis and give the Gradturks water to drink. I dont know, maybe youre heavier than me now. You know, if you think about itC How dare you call me, a woman, heavy! Listen to me, until the end! I mean, when are you going to realize youre wearing armor! This is probably the third time Ive said this to you, come on! Oh, it was. But Hind, the weight of your armor will continue to decrease due to status compensation, right? So its no wonder you dont know your exact weight anymore. I guess thats what they say. Because with the priests puny physical attack and physical defense, that kind of thing almost never happens. However, there is one thing to keep in mind in light of what happened this time. But youve found that when youre riding, as in real life, the lighter you are, the faster youll go. Why dont you basically just leave your gear off while youre riding? Sure, its just a matter of opening the menu and one-touching it. Ill do that next time. When the player is not wearing any equipment, he looks like a plain clothes. If you are in the desert, all you need is a cloak to protect you from the sun and you will be fine. I feel that the lighter the weight, the longer the stamina of the camel or horse will last, and once it is in the inventory, the weight will be gone. When you enter a battle, open the menu and recall the equipment set that you have memorized, and youll be fine. Priests and wizards dont basically equip armor, so I dont think its worth it, but other professions with heavier equipment may be able to get certain effects. As I spoke to that point, I saw that Gradturk and the others had finished their water. Well, lets go with the new revelation. Hmm. Ill be the first to arrive next! No, Im done with the competition. Licorice and the others have just informed us that they are waiting for us at the border fort. From here, the Yavirga Desert and Baska Wilderness are a long way ahead, but these two horses should be able to reach them in no time. We proceeded further east with Gradturk, aiming to meet up at the border. Chapter 97 - What they want to do The situation at the national border was different from when we passed by in the past. Back then, it was pretty much deserted and hardly anyone passed through it. Right now, there were quite a few players there. Business is booming! I cant really say that, though theres far more people than before! Not bad, not bad!(Yumir) I get the feeling that the number of soldiers has increased too. So, where are Lycoris-chan and the rest?(Hind) We descended from our horses and took them by their reins and then we searched for the three of them on the Sala side of the border. I know Im repeating myself too much at this point butthe Grado Turks size is huge, they really stand out. Its not like players talked to us, but they did a double take once they saw the horses we brought with us and after looking at usevery now and then they would acknowledge us while passing through. That being the case, it would be easier if they were able to find us instead. After walking for a bit, just when we arrived at the gate, and I was about to check on their position on the map menu Ah, Yumir-san! Hind-senpai!(Lycoris) A cheerful voice reverberated in the surroundings and Lycoris rushed over as if she was jumping around while waving her hand. Following her were Cineraria with her beautiful posture and Sieta-chan who walked with her back hunched over. Good evening, we are counting on you today!(Cineraria) Good evening senpa-they sure stand out, those horses. Everyone is checking them out.(Siesta) Im glad we were able to smoothly meet up. Like Siesta-chan said, on top of them standing out, the people there were also in the way so after exchanging simple greetings we decided to move somewhere with less people. Slightly ahead of the national border, in a safe area where there were no monsters. We only knew about the fact that they wanted to go to Sala, so since we didnt know what their actual destination was, Yumir decided to ask them. So, which part of Sala do you want to go to?(Yumir) Obviously the Royal Capital Waaha! Furthermore, we want to make our home close to the guild Migratory Bird!(Lycoris) Close to our guild?(Yumir) Or you could say that we want to become parasi-eh, rather, it would be eas-I mean, it would make us happy if you could teach us lots of things.(Siesta) Shh! You are not really hiding your true intentions at all Eh, this girl might be like this but Lycos intentions are pure! So, Please!(Cineraria) Cineraria-chan finished it off with that. Lycoris-chan sure loves Yumir. While she was looking at Yumir with those eyes of admiration, Yumir said this pensively. So, this means that it would be impossible for you three to join our guild?(Yumir) Hearing that, Lycoris-chans eyes sparkled for a split second but she immediately hanged her head. I wonder what happened? Just as I was thinking that You see, your invitation makes me so happy that Id jump from joy but the time we can play at(Lycoris) Today is a weekend day so we have plenty of time to play this evening, but on weekdays we would only be able to log in at around 7pm or thereabouts so(Cineraria) Even if we joined, these two would feel bad if they couldnt help out and contribute to the guild. Even though I told them that senpai and the rest were kind and wouldnt mind it.(Siesta) Its true that we wouldnt really care about their contributions to the guild, but isnt it a bit weird for Siesta-chan to say it?(Hind) If thats the case, theres no point in forcing them to join. Yumir and I exchanged looks and nodded. However, I had a proposition for them. In that case, how about you make a guild and form an alliance with Migratory Bird? If we did it like that, it would be fine if we interacted with each other when our times matched.(Hind) Ooh, thats nice! Thats a good suggestion, Hind!(Yumir) A guild alliance, as the name suggests, is where guilds form a relationship where they support each other when necessary. For example, dividing yourselves in production guilds and fighting guilds to progress in the game, or something like taking members from two or more guilds to tackle large scale eventsthere are various ways to go about it. In the game, if you form an alliance, its possible to use both Guild Homes facilities, theres also an experience bonus for crafting and fighting. Once they heard my explanation, they made really surprised faces due to my unexpected suggestion. Right after, they said Would it be OK for us to consult each other?, and when I told them that I didnt mind, they went to a spot a bit further away and squatted down making a small circle. My bad, Yumir. Did I exceed my authority there? It might have appeared as if I was disregarding our guild master, which is you.(Hind) I dont mind it at all! Your words are my words!(Yumir) I cant but feel dread at the amount of trust you place in meoh well, its fine if you are OK with it.(Hind) If its these girls, Selene-san should be able to open up even in meetings, there probably wont be any issues if they visit the guild regularly. The other three probably wont oppose the ideais what I think, but it might have been a bit impertinent on my part. For Yumir and I to make such a big decision by ourselves, I feel as if its too unfair to the other guild members. That being the case, I quickly sent an email to them and they gave their confirmations right away. Seems like no one is against the idea! Its not like I can go and just say that at this point, though Im glad. Next time, lets ask them what they think first Anyhow, since everyone else agreed, it all depends on the girls in front of me. After a while, they stood up, Lycoris-chan acted as a representative and bowed her head to us. We arrived at a decision! Well take on your offer! Please enter an alliance with the guild we are going to make!(Lycoris) Looking forward to working with you!(Cineraria) Looking forward to it.(Siesta) Umu, got it! We are also looking forward to it!(Yumir) Looking forward to it, you three.(Hind) Since we already promised to make an alliance, it was finally time to depart towards Waaha. Since they participated in the preliminaries of the PvP tournament, they were close to level 40 and there were no issues. We decided to just quickly head towards the Royal Capital, so we were going to split into groups to ride on the Grado Turks but Senpai. They are touching you, would it be better if I said a standard line like that?(Siesta) It would be better if you didnt(Hind) By the time I noticed, no one disagreed and we naturally split into groups. Over there, Yumir was riding with Lycoris-chan and Cineraria-chan. That meant that I was riding along with Siesta-chan. Mounting on top of the Grado Turk on my back was Siesta-chan, who was unnecessarily sticking too close to me. Furthermore, my body stiffened because of this sensation I hadnt felt since before the tournament, this was the second time I had this sense of dread. In an unusual act, Yumir was scowling while looking over here and being completely silent, or is that just my imagination? This is going to be bad if it keeps going like this, is what my bodys instincts were telling me. Wont you move in front of me, Siesta-chan? I would be taking the reins but since you are not that tall I believe you wont obstruct my view.(Hind) I seesenpai is more into asses? Or maybe hairdont tell me that its the nape or the back?(Siesta) How did we reach this point? Are we talking about the same thing right now? Im starting to lose confidence here(Hind) I managed to persuade Siesta-chan somehow and succeeded in making her sit in front of me. Right after we started moving, she started to look around at the view we got from the top of the horse with admiration, but eventually she seemed to lose interest and proceeded to completely relax and lean her back on me. After saying that she was leaving the rest to me I started to hear the breathing sounds of someone sleeping. She sure falls asleep quickly(Hind) From Siesta-chans hair, I smelled a sweet fragrance akin to that of confections. Chapter 98 - Towards the Royal Capital once again. ～Accompanied by the three girls～ Hi there, Hi there, Initially I was supposed to upload this chapter after I was done translating it today but I felt oddly motivated so I decided to try and see if I could sneak in another one while at it. Which will make this a double release this time, which also means we are caught up with Oldslags releases and gone beyond them already. Editor is still not back so these chapters only have a quick proofreading and editing from me, feel free to point out any mistakes you find in them. Not much else to say but there will be a small translation note in the next one. Enjoy the chapters and Ill see you whenever I have another one ready. We did it on the way to the border too, but we looked at the changes in the places we passed through on our way back. First off was the wastelands of Baska, with the increase in the number of players, the amount of bandits had greatly decreased. Who we met on our way was something akin to the remnants of the bandits S-Stop right there! S-So fast! Whats with these stupidly big horses!?(bandit) Its impossible for us on foot, boss!(bandit) They are unable to catch up to us no matter how much they try so we ignored them. They are savage, vulgar and on top of that they smell, they are beings the girls would prefer not to meet for a long time. I-Is it OK for us to ignore them, Hind-senpai!?(Cineraria) Ah, its fine, its fine! More importantly, lets move on!(Hind) Cineraria-chan, who was the one riding furthest in the back, asked me and I just replied that she should just ignore them. Its possible to hand over the bandits to public security and get a reward for it, but that would take time. Well hurry up as much as we can and only stop whenever its absolutely needed! You wanted to arrive there by the end of the day right?(Hind) Yes! Si-chan said to get our home as soon as possible and then start doing activities so that we dont waste any experience! Right, Si-chan!? Wait, shes sleeping!?(Lycoris) Lycoris-chan was shocked. The person that told them that they should hurry up to the Royal Capital was sleeping after all. Speaking of that, I wonder how it was possible for her to still be sleeping even when theres so many people speaking loudly around her. Hind, we are going to reach the town of Baska soon!(Yuimir) As expected, we arrived in no time after ignoring the bandits! Lets go!(Hind) We should let the horses rest and at the very least, introduce the important locations to the three of them. T-This camel just looked over here and smiled!(Lycoris) They are bigger than what I imagined, scary(Cineraria) I can feel some sort of sympathy for them when I look at their expressions. It seems like well get along.(Siesta) That was their reaction when we reached the camel market. They said that it would be fine if they bought camels and we matched their pace but We dont have enough gold.(Three of them) Because of this simple reason, the idea was rejected. We decided to continue as we had done until now and travel on top of our Grado Turks. Uwah! So high! Wed die if we fell from here!(Lycoris) Following that was the suspension bridge, we got off the horses and passed through while walking behind each other but L-Lyco! Dont shake the bridge that much!(Cineraria) Senpai, Im tired from walking so give me a piggyback ride. Carrying me on your arms would be fine too.(Siesta) Hindif you spoil her too much, Ill drop you both from the bridge you know?(Yumir) I-Im not going to do that! Siesta-chan, you havent walked enough to feel tired right!? Come on, do it properly!(Hind) Tsk.(Siesta) We marched forward with this lively atmosphere. After passing through the bridge, we entered the desert where hot winds raged on fiercely. The three of them put on their cloaks and we got on the Grado Turks and started moving. Hooot,so hooot.I cant stand iteven though its a game(Lycoris) Its because you were frolicking all the time(Cineraria) Im dying(Siesta) The three of them succumbed to the heat and were lethargic. Though its not like theres any real discomfort, so theyll get used to it soon enough. We only got in a few fights so that they could get used to the monsters in the desert, other than that, we avoided them while riding the horses. From what I could see from those fights, their teamwork has improved since last time, so it doesnt seem like theyll need much help from us. Like this, we passed through the biggest field on our way to the Royal Capital, Yabilga Desert, and arrived at Oasis town Maija. Aah, Im coming back to life! Eh, is this water free!?(Lycoris) LycoAh, Im sorry, well pay for the amount she has just drankheres the money.(Cineraria) *gulp gulp*puheh!(Siesta) Ah, not you too, Si-chan! You should pay beforehand!(Cineraria) While filling the buckets for horse use with water, Yumir looked at those three and then came close to me. We are used to this by now so we had already paid for the water. It feels as if we are guiding them on a excursion.(Yumir) Well, isnt that fine? Its not bad for you to be the one taking care of others for a change.(Hind) Umu. After all, Im the one that is usually taken care of by you one sidedly!(Yumir) I cant begin to comprehend how you would even feel smug and proud of that fact.(Hind) After resting in the oasis, there was only about a third of the distance left. After beating the field boss of Lukia DesertVenom Scorpion, the Royal Capital Waaha would be right in front of us. After running through the desert at full speed on the Grado Turks, finally, the royal capital was in sight. Immediately following that, a big scorpion jumped out from the sand. Yumir and I stood a bit of a distance behind the three of them. Alright, all thats left is for you to show us what you got! We wont be providing any help!(Yumir) Ill keep track of the partys status so if it gets dangerous Ill intervene. Do your best.(Hind) Yes, Ill do my best!(Lycoris) Leave it to us.(Cineraria) Sure. Ill just do what I can.(Siesta) The field boss doesnt give any experience or have any drop items. With that being the case, having members that wont participate in the party wont prove to be inconvenient. We defeated this field boss as a party of five at the time, but Lycoris-chan and the rest are at a higher level than we were back then. Judging from how they fought before, they should be able to beat this boss with ease. The huge scorpion approached the three of them while making sounds with its shears. Lets go, everyone!(Lycoris) The knight Lycoris-chan took out her shield and guarded against the shears. Right after, Lycoris-chan shot arrows in quick succession and they flew towards the scorpion. Seeing that the arrows were deflected due to the hard carapace, Siesta-chan used Light Enchant. This is a skill thats common in all the different skill trees of Shinto Priest, so its possible for Siesta-chan, who is a balance type, to use it. Having her arrows embed with light magic, Cineraria-chans arrows pierced the body of the Venom Scorpion. Like this, Lycoris-chan stopped the scorpions movements by herself while the other two were steadily dealing damage from the back. The one that was giving the orders among them was mainly the archer, Cineraria-chan. Lyco, the enemy seems to be gathering power! A powerful skill might be coming! Si, prepare to heal Lyco!(Cineraria) Got it, Sai-chan(Lycoris) Im already on it. Lyco, no matter how you look at it, that tail looks as if itll have poison so make sure to be careful.(Siesta) Eh?Wah!?(Lycoris) The scorpions tail approached Lycoris-chan, who had used Provoke to gather aggro. With a carefree manner that wouldnt make you think she was in the middle of a fight, Siesta-chan gave a warning to Lycoris and she was able to defend with her shield just in the nick of time. After that she countered with the short sword on her right hand and slashed at the scorpion. Sai-chan,Si-chan, finish it off!(Lycoris) Following that, she used the tank type Knights skill Shield Bash, and dealt a heavy blow with the big shield she had equipped. Thanks to that, the Venom Scorpionentered a stunned state and was unable to move from its position. Nice one, Lyco! Si!(Cineraria) Sure thing.(Siesta) Having used the stun time to chant a spell for a bit, Siesta-chan released the light element offensive spell Heavens Rayat the same time as Arrow Rain. Just as its appearance suggested, the big scorpion had high physical defense but low magical resistance. The huge amount of arrows that rained down stopped it in its place and the beam that Siesta-chan released made a direct hit. It was burnt by the light and disappeared in that spot. Well done! Thats some impressive teamwork! Right, Hind!?(Yumir) You are right. If the PvP tournament was a 3 man one, wouldnt they have had better results?(Hind) Due to our compliments, Lycoris-chan and Cineraria-chan looked as if they felt embarrassed. Siesta-chan was the only one whose expression didnt change at all, I guess she wouldnt go as far as to approach me all happily and ask me to praise her more after all. Like this, Yumir and I were able to successfully return to the Royal Capital Waaha along with those three in a single evening. Chapter 99 - Helping choose a home and forming a guild alliance So small translation note here. Regarding the name of the girls guild at first I thought about using other synonyms of the name but after some consideration, I decided to go with something containing the word bird so that at first glance anyone could tell the names between both guilds were similar as it is the case when you see the original names side by side. Nothing else to point out. We left the stable and started walking around town, the three of them were walking around and looking at how bustling the Royal Capital was with admiration. Lets decide on where we want our home right away! Sightseeing can be left for later!(Lycoris) Hind-senpai, where is Migratory Birds home?(Cineraria) However, that didnt go on for long, and now they were both asking us where our home was while breathing heavily, Migratory Birds home was in a neighborhood found if you descended a bit from the royal palaceit was in an high-end residential area where people like nobles would reside. But nobles didnt exist in Waaha, merchants were the ones that made their residences in this area. Im not sure what their budget looks like considering they werent able to buy camels. However, since they said it would be nice to get one close to ours, I had no objections in guiding them to ours for the time being. Sure, Ill guide you there now.(Hind) Follow us!(Yumir) We skipped the market and came out of the residential area for the common people, which had decent public security, then ascended up the gentle slope that led to the royal palace. While walking in the opposite direction of the water from the irrigation channelswe arrived at a residence that would be accurate to call it a Mansion. This is our home!(Yumir) Please, thats a good joke!(Lycoris) Even if senpai and the rest are amazing, this would have to be a lie right?(Cineraria) Lyco, Sai. Both senpais dont look as if they are joking around. On top of the entrance, Home of the guild Migratory Bird is displayed too(Siesta) (Lycoris and Cineraria) Lycoris-chan and Cineraria-chan were petrified. I see, so you beat that giant snake (Lycoris) Lyco, its called Basilisk.(Cineraria) So you exterminated this Basilisk and gained permission to buy a house in this area? And they even made it cheaper for you?(Lycoris) I explained in detail how we managed to buy this house and they both seemed to finally understand. Since the majority of the guilds use an apartment type house right now, I believe that it cant be helped that they were shocked at seeing this single house. Thats the case. Even when we used all the money we got from exterminating that Basilisk, it was barely enough. If you bought it normally, it would be tens of millions of G at the lowest and worst case scenario maybe even hundreds of millions?(Hind) Hundredslooking at how much the average player would have right now, that seems so far away. Just by thinking about it Im getting sleepy(Siesta) No doubt about it. There are a lot of players that even struggle to buy a horse that costs a few millions. We were just lucky.(Hind) We could say this is something like a privilege for being the first ones to reach the capital. We havent heard about another Basilisk appearing after that. However, wouldnt that make it hard for us to get a house around here?(Lycoris) We have the money we got for betting on Yumir-senpai and Hind-senpai but(Cineraria) Ah, you placed a bet on us? Thanks.(Hind) Muh? Didnt you say that you didnt have enough money to buy a camel a while ago?(Yumir) We meant that we didnt have money to spend on camels. We bet everything we owned which amounted to 200k, that gave us 10 millionif you didnt invite us, we were planning on coming to Waaha on foot. Obviously, I was against it.(Cineraria) Walkingif they spent the entire weekend they might have got here, but it was pretty reckless. Right now, apart from the beginners, it seems like everyone has a donkey at the very least. 10 million huhwith the exception of this area, I believe it would be enough to buy a house in a residential area.(Hind) Given the occasion, we would prefer if it was close by butwould that be impossible?(Lycoris) Seeing Lycoris-chans dejected expression, my chest hurt. On top of that, Yumir came with a follow up attack. Hind, cant you do something about it?(Yumir) Even if you tell me to do somethingI get that you want to show off in front of your juniors butisnt this too unreasonable? Lending money to these children wont work in their favour, but we cant just abandon them after coming this far either. Ive also been wondering this for a while butwhy are they asking me? Hind-senpai(Cineraria) Senpaisenpais troubled expression, I love it. Mufufu.(Siesta) All these peopleespecially what Siesta-chan said at the end, youd better remember this. Enjoying the situation when someone else is in a difficult situation. Oh geez, I get it, I get it! Yumir, in that case, Im heading to the royal palace. Take those three and lead them inside Migratory Birds home.(Hind) The royal palace? Ooh, there was that! Understood!(Yumir) What are you going to do by going to the royal palace?(Lycoris) I replied to Lycoris-chan, who was tilting her head. Im going to use the additional reward from the tournament that I havent used yet.(Hind) ?(Lycoris) We have various places in mind, so there probably wont be any issues. Leaving those four behind, I exercised a certain special privilege I had and ascended towards the royal palace. As promised, lets proceed with the reward for winning the tournamentthis was something the Queen said to us two days before we logged in again. She told us that she was in a good mood and we could ask for anything, but since Yumir and I couldnt think of anything we put it on hold. The queen made a face as if she had found our reply to be incredibly boring but since it was right after we won, it didnt put her in a bad mood. In that case, you can ask whenever you need something, those unexpectedly tolerant words came from her. With that being the case These are properties owned by the royal family, I got a list of properties they said it would be fine to buy for a cheap price.(Hind) I announced the results of my negotiations in the royal palace to the girls, who were resting in the guild homes lounge. Tobi, Riizu and Selene-san had been talking to them here until a while ago, but they had now returned to their work. Thank you very much! We are really thankful! Hind-senpai, you are amazing!(Lycoris) But is it really OK? To use your reward for winning the tournament on people like us(Cineraria) Contrary to Lycoris-chan, who was innocently jumping from joy, Cineraria-chan felt apologetic. However, we feel that this sort of consideration is unneeded. I meanright, Yumir?(Hind) Umu. We already got a reward from the emperor and also those amazing horses, furthermore, we also got a large amount of money from placing a bet on ourselves. We got so many things so suddenly that we honestly dont know what we should ask for. Besides, that queen has that sort of personality, right?(Yumir) Even if she said anything, her mood would have turned sour if we were to ask for something excessive, we were actually quite troubled by it. Since it seems like this request is fine, dont think about it and choose one from this list.(Hind) The three of them looked at our conversation with admiration and let out an I see. But that queen is seriously annoying. If you wished for something carelessly, your likability would definitely visibly decrease. That being the case, once I asked for the same reward as that time with the Basilisk, she immediately gave the OK. This is a matter we were having trouble with within the guild, and I believe that it would be quite a waste to not do anything with it, so I believe this is a great opportunity to make use of it. However, if you are going to go that far, why not make it fre-(Siesta) Hey, Si! Thats rude! What are you even saying!?(Cineraria) Thats right, Si-chanThese terms are already exceptional, even someone like me can tell!(Lycoris) Seeing Siesta-chan try to take advantage of the situation, Yumir and I smiled wryly. Being free would be something incredible, but since this is a game, I wonder if that wouldnt give much sense of accomplishment? That being said, we went through the candidates for a guild home while the girls were looking at the list. First off, this is the one closest to our home.(Hind) ? Isnt this part of Migratory Birds home?(Cineraria) No, while they look similar based on their outward appearance, they are actually not. Formerly, this seems to have been a secondary residence of the previous owner. So, since the owner is gone, the purchase of the plot is being done separately. Thats why this place is vacant right now.(Hind) Is that so!? I didnt know(Yumir) Hey.(Hind) I wonder what Yumir thought this building was. Cineraria-chan nodded in understanding of my words. Now that you mention it, that would make that one the main building right? This one looks quite compact.(Siesta) I see. However, if we chose this one, wouldnt it make us match with Migratory Bird? Its quite smaller if we compare them, but if we looked at it by itself, its more than big enough.(Cineraria) It would make us match, I felt as if those simple words made Lycoris-chan react once they got through her ears. Following that, her eyes started to sparkle. Ah, dont tell me this Lets settle on this one! Sai-chan, Si-chan! I think this one is good!(Lycoris) Eh? If you are fine with it, I dont really mind but(Cineraria) Are you really fine with this one? Its true that it has all the necessary facilities, but there are bigger buildings or buildings with spacious gardens(Hind) This one is fine!(Lycoris) Umu, its important to follow your instincts, Lycoris! Once you have set on an objective, you just have to run towards it!(Yumir) Yes! Yumir-san!(Lycoris) These twooh well, who cares. Being pressured by Lycoris-chans vigor, it seems like we will settle on this one without looking at the other properties. Cineraria-chan approved with excitement and when it came to Siesta-chan This is the closest one right, senpai?(Siesta) Yup, this one is the only one that takes less than 30 seconds to get to ours. Though that was obvious.(Hind) Then Im fine with this one too. If we were too far, it would be too tiresome whenever I felt like going there to play.(Siesta) Like this, we easily decided on the first property we visited. The cost of it was 9 million with the big discount we got. Then, they discussed what their guild name would be and decided on a similar one to Migratory Bird, Baby Bird. With that name, wouldnt it feel as if it was quite the downgrade compared to ours? Is what I thought, but since they looked satisfied with it, I didnt say anything. Like this, Migratory Birdand the newly formed Baby Bird became sister guilds and entered an alliance with each other. Chapter 100 - Cooking club’s activities Hi there, Weve reached the milestone of 100 chapters of VRMMO *clap clap clap*. Wish I had something to say but unfortunately nothing really comes to mind. Regarding this chapter, quite a few characters introduced in this chapter, most of them are not really named yet so it was a bit weird to translate. Theres also instances of informal slang used in the chapter and I was not really sure how to translate it in English. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. In the kitchen, there was a stimulating aromatic smell drifting in the air. The bread that was being fried, rose up while making a satisfying sound. Since they had turned golden brown, I proceeded to place them on top of a tray so that the oil could be drained. Vice-president, is it OK for us to eat them already? Is it? Im starving Just wait a bit longer until the oil dries out. Besides, you guys should learn from the club president. Look at how shes patiently wai-(Wataru) So hot! Fuh fuh, so crispy. So tasty! They are the best! Sorry, that was a lie(Wataru) On the contrary, she was the first one to get a headstart. Even if she noticed my gaze, I couldnt stop president Iyamas hands from moving. Cant be helped, after all the president loves bread and todays menu is Pirozhki?. Inside them were grounded pork, onions and eggs fried with Cellophane noodles?. Wataru-chan, how about you stop working and eat while they are freshly baked?(Iyama) Before that, if you girls are not going to fry them, you should at least clean the tools that are being used. Dont go leaving all the work to the guys.(Wataru) Unfortunately, we are already done with that, vice-president Is this plate good enough? Ill place it down. The male to female ratio of the cooking club was of four guys and around ten girls. Sadly, this sad display of the power balance in our club was something normal. Regrettably, while the girls were all talking, the times the guys did the chores instead were frequent. Well, they did work hard at kneading the dough and wrapping itbut they turned lazy when it came down to tidying up like they currently were. Yup, this plate is fine. Like always, its fine for those that are not that hungry right now, to wrap them and take their portions back.(Wataru) Things would be different if there was a third year male, but sadly, the oldest males in the cooking club were 2nd years. Two second years and two first years, making us four in total. Even then, with the calm president Iyama as the leader, we continued our once a week activities while getting along. Personally, I would prefer if she stopped calling meWataru-chan though. Kenji, how are things on your end?(Wataru) We were currently deep frying in two saucepans. Each ones size was on the smaller side but a large amount of wrapped Pirozhkis kept rising up. I called up the person in front of me, he was called Mashiba Kenji and was the other second year apart from me. Im still working on the third batch. However, isnt it about time we called the sport clubs?(Kenji) Even if we didnt call them, they would still get lured by the smel-(Wataru) Kishikami-kun!(Saitou) See? They came. Along with Saitou-sans voice came the entire girls tennis club, following that, the rest of the sport clubs came over. While they were less than the sport clubs, some people from the literature clubs also came over. Their break times were all over the place so its not like they came at the exact same time, but the close to two hundred Pirozhkis were all gone within an hour. ?It seems like the guys have all finished working so we can finally get some rest. As always, they sure are gone in a flash They are like wild beasts, the sports clubs around this time. They are like beasts set free in a field. While tidying up the plates full of breadcrumbs from the table, the guys complained while doing their work. The girls being them, had taken photos of the food and were diligently writing down the activities and recipes in a notebook. Last year it was only the cooking club eating the food and it ended with that, how did it become like this? Is that so? Aah, you see, Iyama-senpai(Wataru) While we are at it, I wish we could cook tons more and see everyones happy expressionsright, Wataru-chan?. Having that kind of idea as youd expect from the daughter of people that owned a bakery, I was dragged around and we negotiated with the teachers. Since Iyama-senpai was an honor student with good conduct, they supported her, and thats how it gave birth to the current special situation. There were things like asking local shops for their cooperation in order to get ingredients at a cheap price, those are memories of a year where we were really busy doing a lot of stuff behind the scenes. Isnt that just the vice-president being dragged around!? I mean, would you be able to refuse if she asked you with that pure smile of hers? If you pushed her away half-heartedly after seeing that, she would end up coercing you, you know?(Wataru) She barged in even when classes were having breaks and called on Wataru you know? That person doesnt care about what other people think of her.(Kenji) Uheh Kenji was in the same class as me last year, so he knew about the situation well. This guy wasnt a club member at the time either. Finally, we could take a bite of the Pirozhki?s placed on the table. They had gotten slightly cold but the texture was crispy, and the sticky red bean paste inside them was superb So tasty!(Wataru and Kenji) This is delicious! Hey, Wataru-chan. Right now, you were talking about me, right?(Iyama) Our club president was an easygoing person. You take too long to react, Iyama-senpai Alright, this concludes todays cooking clubs activities. Good work everyone.(Iyama) Good work everyone! With senpais speech, todays activities were over. I returned to the classroom first along with Kenji and after picking our bags we headed towards the gate. On our way, someone shouted at me when I heard the sound of heavy steps approaching me from behind. Wacchi! Waaaaaacchi!!(Shuuhei) Ah? Hey, that idiot is calling you, Wataru.(Kenji) When I reluctantly turned around, like Kenji had said, the figure of Shuuhei (idiot) was approaching us from the other side of the hallway. The reason why someone whos not in any club was still here at this time, I already knew. Hey there, supplementary lessons guy. Are you done with them already?(Wataru) Dont give me some weird nickname! Ah, Kenji was with you. Hi there.(Shuuhei) Oh, you had supplementary lessons? You are so dumb, though I already knew that. Though I already knew that.(Kenji) Was there a need for you to say that twice!?(Shuuhei) Reallyeven though I tried so hard to teach him, Shuuhei ended up getting failing grades in two subjects. Though, if I hadnt taught him, I could see the results being much worse. That being the case, I think it would be better for my mental health if I thought of it as It ended up being only two subjects. Whatever. Lets go back together, Wacchi. Ah, want to go together, Kenji?(Shuuhei) Shuuhei, youyou said that on purpose knowing that I live in the opposite direction right? Well then, see you, Wataru. Ah, to that idiot over there too, laters.(Kenji) Yeah, see you, Kenji.(Wataru) Laters!(Shuuhei) After exchanging goodbyes, we went in the opposite direction after Kenji left the school gate. We walked side by side. Oh right, Wacchi. New information about the TB event has been released.(Shuuhei) Ive been thinking about this for a while, when are you even checking the official website? You always seem to know about this kind of thing faster than me.(Wataru) I-I mean, you see(Shuuhei) So he does it while we are in class. So he plans to get failing grades again, this guy. Leaving that aside, sotheres new information about the item contest. How they are going to review the items and what rewards will be given havent been said yet, its true that Im interested in those. Its dangerous to look at the phone while walking, so Ill take a look at the specifics once Im back home.(Wataru) Then Ill refrain from spoiling anything. By the way, about remodeling the guild home(Shuuhei) That again? Youve already turned various places into something akin to a ninja residence, what else are you going to touch this time?(Wataru) No, no, its still not enough. This time, I plan to turn an entire room into a secret chamber an-(Shuuhei) Even if you were to make that, it would only end up being something like a toy for Lycoris-chan and the rest to play with(Wataru) If he jumped out of a hidden door, people would get scared so I wish he stopped. Like they stated before, they had come over to play quite often. The guild home has become quite lively compared to before and lately, everyone has been absorbed into their own crafting. Leaving the matters of TB aside for now, what should I make for dinner today? While remembering the ingredients I had left at home, I walked through the road dyed by the evening sun along with Shuuhei. Chapter 101 - Information released about the item contest and BBS Hi there, Back with another chapter. Nothing to say this time either, enjoy the chapter. I turned on my PC and the fans started making noise. Having finished dinner and doing the chores, I was checking the event information in my own room. Once I reached the page I was looking for, my hand stopped and I stared at the screen. The deserts queen Patra?Adenium?Sala has made an announcement to the continent! II want something that excites me!(Patra) Unusual items, equipment, accessories and so on The queen wishes for you to present crafted items/equipment that satisfies her curiosity, and you can obtain various rewards! Furthermore, once the contest ends, its possible to auction the items/equipment that have been presented in the contest! (In the case you dont wish for your entry to be auctioned, theyll be returned to you) This might be your chance to have her take interest in your items and have them sold in the auction!? Warning: on top of the performance of the item/equipment, the NPC Patras tastes will be considered for the review. In turn, if you are aiming for a high score, youll have to aim for something that Queen Patra will like. Take this in consideration beforehand. Rewards at the top of each division. 1st place: Noblis Carbuncle (superior gem type material) and 2.000.000 G 2nd~5th place: Carbuncle x5 (gem type material) and 500.000G 6th~10th place: Carbuncle x3 (gem type material) and 300.000G ? ? ? Oh, the host of this times event is our queen. I seebut, that queens preferences,huh I more or less know what itd be, but wouldnt this be disadvantageous for players in the other regions? Having thought that, I proceeded to go to the forums. I wonder if this thread would be good? Who isThread to talk about the item contestthe judge? This is a thread to talk about the item contest thats planned to be held in TB. Idle talk is allowed, as long as its related to the event, any topic is fine. Ignore the trolls and be well mannered. The next thread will be made once we reach >>950 comments. 573Nameless MageIDDtTd9Rg Its been decided that the judge will be the queen, what are we going to do? 574Nameless Light WarriorIDpxwgQWb Ive barely crafted at all I might not participate in this event. 575Nameless ArcherIDQJTHiBQ I wonder if shell get angry if we present a trash item. 576Nameless KnightIDERsuCAm @573 What do you mean? 577Nameless Heavy WarriorIDNgJQ4sg Even if she doesnt get angry, your likability with the queen would decrease LOL. 578Nameless KnightID33yFJbZ Likability with the NPCs is an important part of this game after all. A number of events change depending on your likability. 579Nameless MageIDDtTd9Rg @576 Has the queens personality already been established? As far as I could see from the nobles seats during the tournament, I could only guess that she had a strong personality. 580Nameless ArcherIDQJTHiBQ That does interest melike when theres a mysterious switch in front of me luring me inLOL 581Nameless KnightIDERsuCAm Even if it ends up with you throwing your likability with her out of the window, how about you try giving her a trash item just to see how she reacts? @579 Shes also a beautiful woman right? Besides that, when Hero-chan and her partner won the tournament she was incredibly happy. 582Nameless Martial ArtistIDm6wMtzz @569 Shes also someone that wears flashy outfits? That amount of exposurewhoa `( b?b)=3 On the topic of her personality, it would be nice if players from the desert told us `|?` (wink wink) 583Nameless Shinto PriestID6BpTdxi Blatantly asking for information LOL. 584Nameless Light WarriorIDKpumg3p He doesnt plan to investigate by himself at all LOL. It feels fair for me to share information hereit looks quite unfair for players outside Sala. Someone will eventually tell them, so I dont mind being the one that does it. Ill tell them something simple without giving away any private information. 590Nameless Shinto PriestIDFiyAgWT Regarding Patra-samas personality, in simple terms. ?Her nature is the very image of an arrogant queen. ?She has collected all sorts of gems, regarding other metals, it seems like she prefers gold to silver. ?Narcissist. ?Likes beautiful things as its been said in the previous statement, that includes herself. ?Takes pride in her appraisal, so its possible that she can see the quality of an item at a glance. Something like this, this is just a rough estimate, if you have any doubts, feel free to go to other NPC threads and look at information given by other players and then verify the information and reach your own conclusions. 591Nameless Heavy WarriorIDJQcaswh Even if you felt motivated to go there, the fields in TB are really wideSala is really far. 592Nameless MageID72uS5XQ Its also a pain to secure a means of transportation. Though it would be another matter if you had a high grade horse. 593Nameless Martial ArtistIDm6wMtzz @590 Ooooh! Thanks for the information! I never expected someone would really give informationit was worth asking. 594Nameless KnightIDEFjjPpm @590 As far as I can seeshe does really give the feeling of her being a Queen. 595Nameless Light WarriorIDdVHsGfS Ah, I see, it would be fine if we just took a look at the NPC threads. 596Nameless Shinto PriestIDBNt9Khj No, information about the queen is vastly smaller in quantity compared to the other rulers. Frankly, I really appreciate 590 for giving us that much information. 597Nameless ArcherIDFfesVaj Gathering information from the NPC related threads and organizing it would also be quite time consuming. Theres one of those fetish threads for the queen so I guess its just a matter of time. 598Nameless KnightIDHRTJHxJ Those fetish threads dont have any valuable information LOL. The people that post over there probably havent even gotten to the Royal Capital yet? LMAO. 599Nameless MageIDcDNuTi3 Those guys just look at screenshots and say that shes erotic and the like! 600Nameless Light WarriorIDnx8PZsZ @590 Question. Whats the queens age? 601Nameless Shinto PriestIDFiyAgWT @600 Im scared to ask about that kind of thing. If I were to ask her, my likability would drop at mach speed. 602Nameless Light WarriorIDnx8PZsZ Yeah, you are right LOL. My bad LOL. 603Nameless KnightIDERsuCAm Her three sizesno, forget it. 604Nameless Shinto PriestIDFiyAgWT You are all asking stupid questions 605Nameless Martial ArtistIDm6wMtzz No, no, we really appreciate it LOL. @590 The information in this comment is more than enough. 606Nameless ArcherIDuFCSTWP So its fine as long as they are items/equipment that are beautiful and luxurious? OK, OK, I know what to do! 607Nameless MageIDt4P7AWJ The interior (Inherent quality?) seems to also be important according to the event information. I guess it wont be good if they only look good on the outside? 608Nameless Shinto PriestID6MTaY5j But that part in @590 where it says that she likes beautiful things (including herself) is amazing LOL. What about giving her an item that acts as cosmetic? 609Nameless Heavy WarriorIDE2pFuSE Thats a good idea! 610Nameless ArcherIDZnHsY7P Ah, I see. I wonder if something like that would suit her tastes. 611Nameless Light WarriorIDV7nL4Hp Its just that, if you were to focus too much on the queens preferences, those items wouldnt sell in the auction. 612Nameless KnightID3YVhWT5 I can see that happening. If it was something like foundation, there would be no point in making your avatars skin all glossy LOL. Would it be something that could be sold to female playersyeah, kinda doubtful LOL. 613Nameless MageIDQgFGPzb To satisfy both sidesI guess accessories would be a safe bet? 614Nameless Shinto PriestIDzaKdRyi Maybe. 615Nameless ArcherID8MrwpDE Wouldnt it be fine to go for a weapon or armor type? Its not like the queen will choose something to wear herself right? 616Nameless Heavy WarriorID45L8chM Its probably the case since they are going to return the items we present them. Itll only be judged based on what the queen likes and dislikes on top of the quality of the item? 617Nameless Martial ArtistID8T7knLY In that case, someone will definitely make a golden and shiny armor LOL. Only coating them in gold would be no good soitd be made of pure gold! 618Nameless KnightIDERsuCAm Not sure? Even if we say that she likes gold, would that mean she likes things to have ornaments made of gold, or would it mean the she likes them to be all made of gold? Depending on how much she likes it, it would change her evaluation, right? 619Nameless Heavy WarriorID45L8chM I mean, TBs NPCs AI are quite complex after all What do you think about what he said? @590 620Nameless Shinto PriestIDFiyAgWT I wouldnt know such detailed information. I can tell you about her tendencies, but more than that, youll have to investigate on your own. 621Nameless Heavy WarriorID45L8chM Well, you have a point. Since the item performance is important, guess we can leave the appearance for later. In that case, we have to think about the materials first. 622Nameless Martial ArtistIDjX9Jfh4 That would be fine for equipment types, but it wouldnt really be feasible for items. 623Nameless MageIDQgFGPzb Since she said that she wants excitement, would something unusual that surprises her work? 624Nameless Shinto PriestIDFiyAgWT Even if I said that she likes beautiful things, she did mention that she has grown tired of normal things. The direction 623 is taking might prove to be effective. That doesnt apply to items but to gear too. 625Nameless Light WarriorIDhwWwL3h Uwah such a pain! This queen is so hard to please! LOL 626Nameless Shinto PriestIDFiyAgWT @625 I can agree with that from the bottom of my heart. Im not good with this type of person. 627Nameless Heavy WarriorIDPmSVNbn In the end, this is a contest of ideas? I cant imagine how itll go 628Nameless Shinto PriestIDA3mTr4A If thats the case, I cant come up with anything for healing items The topic of the conversation has changed soI guess this is enough. In that case, guess Ill log into TBby taking the fact that the queen is the judge, we should think of ideas. Chapter 102 - Agricultural land reformation and Magic Scrolls. Hi there, There were quite a few technical terms in this chapter, I did a bit of research about it so I believe the terms have been translated properly at the very least. The meaning of itnot that confident but I think I got the gist of it. Other than that, not much else to say, enjoy the chapter. There always will be an agricultural area regardless of if its a city or a village. Since this is a game where you can set your guild home whenever you want, the main difference is the price of the plot of land. In urban areas, the price is high, contrary to that, the price is cheap for rural areas. Even then, when you have set up your guild home in a city, taking into account traveling time and labor, even if its more expensive, its more convenient to buy an agricultural plot in the same city. That being said, we bought this splendid and vast plot of land with the reward from the tournament. First off, well sta-(Hind) Hind, Hind! Is it OK if I start sprinkling water!? Can I do it!?(Yumir) Why are you all here?(Riizu) Eh? If the little sister says that, Ill immediately go back. Ill go back home and sleep in senpais room.(Siesta) Huh? Huh?(Riizu) Si-chan, you cant go back! We have to help them to pay them back for the guild home!(Lycoris) Thats right, Si! Stand up properly! You cant go back alone! Come on, do it properly!(Cineraria) Hyahaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Its time for farmwoooooork! Hm? Selene-dono, whats wrong?(Tobi) E-EhI think Hind-kun is about to explode(Selene) Hind, if you are not going to reply, Im going to do it! Im going to do it, you hear me!?(Yumir) Seems like Ill have to have a serious conversation with youit seems like my observations have been lacking, it was my failure to have agreed to this guild alliance.(Riizu) I dont have anything to talk about with the little sister? No matter what you say, I with senpaiIll play with senpai.(Siesta) Shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup!! Listen when someone is talking to yoooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuu!!(Hind) They seemed to have been free, but it was my mistake to bring them here to help. I never thought it would be so hard to keep them under control, just by increasing the number of people from five to eight. After I shouted, they finally shifted their attention to me and were silent. Im going to split you into groups! Baby Birds members are to go with Selene-san and in charge of succulent plants! Selene-san, Im leaving that part to you.(Hind) Ah, yup. Got it.(Selene) You three, work while following Selene-sans instructions. Im counting on you.(Hind) Yes!(Lyco and Sai) Sure thing(Siesta) I thought about working with everyone but it seems like its going to be impossible, lets split up. Ive discussed what to do with Selene-san beforehand, so Im leaving one side to her. Well proceed with reforming the land here. We had planned to plant local desert plants over there, so there was no need to do anything complex. The rest of you, come over here. Yumir, forget about the water for now.(Hind) We are not going to sprinkle itI see(Yumir) She looks depressed, buteven if she sprinkled water in this sandy soil, there would be no effect. I guess I should start by explaining that Like that, there are a lot of things you can plant even in that sandy soil, this side though, we plan to improve the soil and the grow crops or medicinal herbs.(Hind) We can do something like that?(Tobi) When I said that we wouldnt know if we didnt try, Tobi made a weird face. What? It cant be helped, right? Its not something anyone has already tried. To support that claim, in this agricultural area, there were no other players aside from us. In Waaha, theres plenty of water compared to other places in the desert, if we compare them by the simple fact that it has irrigation channels. However, you cant just sprinkle water.(Hind) By using the Capillary motion, we are going to raise the underground water and have it increase the salt levels of the soil right?(Riizu) Oh, as expected of my sister. You are correct. Since this is a game, Im not sure if that will actually happen, but I thought that it wasnt as if the possibility was zero.(Hind) Capillary?(Yumir) Salt levels?(Tobi) Yumir and Tobi tilted their heads, in other words If we just soak this sandy soil with water and have it quickly go downwards its no good. Its fine as long as you understand that.(Hind) In that case, water displacement of the soil would be difficult somaybe bringing soil from another region? What are you going to do, Hind-san.(Riizu) The two of them still looked as if they hadnt understood anything, but since we wouldnt make progress at this rate, Ill just keep going. I took a large amount of scrolls from my inventory and placed them on the ground. The scrolls were of a light brown color. We are going to use these.(Hind) Magic scrolls? What are we using these for?(Riizu) Ah, I understand this!(Tobi) I got it too! These are(Yumir) Right, these are earth magic scrolls.(Hind) Aaaaaah!!(Tobi and Yumir) I wanted to say that!, they shouted as if they wanted to complain about that but I ignored them and continued explaining. We are going to use this large amount of Earth Shot scrolls to mix them with the soil. But since its soil made of magic, it gives the image of it not having any nutrients(Hind) Does it really create it? Does Earth Shot make soil?(Tobi) It does. Furthermore, its perfect for water retention. By the way, theres another one for Mud Shot that releases mud.(Hind) There are also other earth magic scrolls being sold and I did at least try them out, but among them, I deemed that the beginner magic Earth Shots soil was the most suitable for agriculture. The amount of soil released is what you should expect from a beginner level spell, but even if it takes some time and effort, we should give priority to quality here. Furthermore, this is the worst method in terms of cost efficiency, butsince we dont know a Earth?Water type mage, we have no other choice.(Hind) These are items made for jobs like Heavy Warriors that are unable to use magic after all. Theres no many uses for them apart from using them in situations like when you are fighting against an enemy with abnormally high physical resistance, so the amount of people that make them are low too.(Tobi) Besides that, only people that dont form a party and play solo would buy them after all.(Yumir) Even if you played solo, you could just bring an elemental weapon sothey are items with a low variety of uses.(Hind) Having said that, scrolls are items with low demand but their prices are high. Since I used the BBS to place a bulk order from a penniless mage, I was able to buy them far cheaper than if I were to have bought them normally from the trading BBS. That being said, everyone, go pick up the scrolls and scatter around. These items rely on the magical power of the crafter, so the effect is fixed no matter who uses them.(Hind) Umu! The truth is, Ive always wanted to try out magic myself! Even if its just an imitation, magic is magic!(Yumir) Me too! In that case, Ill take ten of them andhere I go!(Tobi) From the scrolls, soil came forth and Yumir and Tobi sprinkled it around while having fun. Riizu and I took a scroll in our hands and started working after taking some distance from each other Why are you sticking close to me!? Make some distance, the soil is going to harden!(Hind) Today Im really really lacking in nii-san energy so Itll be alright, if we just keep going like this and spread it left and right, there will be no issues.(Riizu) Nii-san energy? Whats that?(Hind) Linking arms with me after saying that, Riizu looked over at Selene-san and the restspecifically at Siesta-chan, and then smiled in triumph. Siesta-chan noticed her gaze and absentmindedly looked over here and thenaverted her eyes with a Humph and returned to her work. I believe there wasnt much change in her sleepy expression, but even then, Riizu looked satisfied. Then her body approached mine even more. I mean, what are you trying to do? Besides, Id be really happy if you could separate from me already.(Hind) FufuI refuse. I wont separate until we finish this work at the very least.(Riizu) Riizu denied my request and started sprinkling the soil with a scroll on one hand. It was embarrassing so I tried to shake off the arm that was linked to mine, but I couldnt comprehend where shes getting all that strength from with that small body of hers. Besides, didnt she just decide this on her own? Where did she learn this technique I sighed and gave up, then I took a scroll and started spreading the soil. A small magic circle showed up and a low amount of soil was vigorously shot. Ah, this is more fun than I expected. Chapter 103 - arming and visitors in the guild home Hi there, Another day, another chapter. Just a quick TL note this time, a certain character refers to Selene with Jou/ݡ at the end. While this has a few meanings, in this case it would be a variant of Miss but far more politely and not something usually used. (at least in real life) So I was pondering how to get the point across that it was different from the usual san and more polite and ended up just using the English form of miss to differentiate them. Not really a big deal but Ill check later if theres a need to change it to JP for consistency or the like (though I have already broken rules there). Anyway, enjoy the chapter. Once the soil we had scattered around solidified, we started plowing it, while we kept leveling the uneven portions of the land, time passed by in a flash. While we were at it, once we finished with our part, we proceeded to go and help Selene-san and Lycoris and co. Ploooowing Throooooough!!(Yumir) Aaaaaaaaaah! Secret technique, other self farming! Hahaha, with this, Im twice as efficient!(Tobi) Tobi-san multiplied!? I-I cant lose!(Lycoris) In that case, follow me, Lycoriiiiiiis!(Yumir) Yes! Aaaaaaaaaaah!!(Lycoris) Yumir and Tobi, Lycoris-chan too, were so loud from beginning to end. That being said, even though they were noisy, it was true that they were the ones doing the most work. The areas they worked on were done at a high pace, although quite messily. Since we need to mix oxygen into the soil, I cant really go and tell them that theres no point in plowing the soil so high. Hind-san, poor Secchan, shes politely following after them and leveling the plot(Riizu) If you really think that, Riizu, go help herah, Cineraria-chan noticed.(Hind) Thus, those two that did their work thoroughly followed behind those three, and they somehow split their work properly. Cineraria-chan is a good girl that has her act together If Sai-chan wasnt there, us three would be all over the place soshes something akin to senpai in Migratory Bird you know?(Siesta) Siesta-chan, dont go hiding your presence and stand up behind us. Furthermore, I know I said this before butdont go reading what other people are thinking either.(Hind) Evil spirit, begone!(Riizu) Riizu suddenly placed herself behind me and threw the soil she had on her hands at her. However, as if she had expected that action from Riizu, Siesta-chan dodged it beautifully with languid and smooth movements. You wont hit me with those.(Siesta) Tsk! I wont let you escape!(Riizu) Well, the agricultural area is a safe area, so even if she were to hit her with it, the damage would be nullified. Its also possible to use skills and attack, but if those hit players, there wont be any damage dealt. Before the introduction of safe areas, there was that time where Riizu kicked Yumir in the knee and it dealt a small amount of damage right?Thats sort of nostalgic. Like that, they kept getting further away from me while throwing soil at each other, so I ignored them. They both lack physical strength anyway, so theyll get tired soon enoughthe soil will mix properly even if they just throw it like that, so its no problem. I grabbed the hoe and proceeded to plow the soil in that spot again. I worked on my designated area thoroughly. When it comes to simple work, patience is the most important thing. From that point, I kept swinging the hoe down for nearly an hour and that section was finally done. Im not sure how much of this heat theyll be able to take, but for the time being, I planted some common medicinal herbs. Since its a game, even if you were to plant the same thing over and over, continuous cropping wont occur and theyll grow at an exceptional speed. If we keep doing things while not thinking too deeply about it, things should probably go well to a certain extent. We should sprinkle an appropriate amount of water and with that, todays work should be over. Alright, its done. Good work everyone.(Hind) Good work Everyone replied while covered in mud. Regarding when your avatar is covered in filth in this game, after some time passes, a Cleaning button will appear in your status window, if you press it, its possible for your avatar to return to its original state. However, it might have been because they were tired, but everyone was sitting down while still covered in dirt. It was hard work after all, cant be helped. Though its not as if your physical body inside the game builds fatigue butah, thats right. I made some pudding yesterday, want to eat some?(Hind) I want some!! Ah, E-ehI-I want some too(Selene) With only Selene-san falling a bit behind, we all decided unanimously to have a snack. Well, even then, its not like by eating the pudding well get full in real life either. It would be something like healing our emotional fatigue. In order to rest, we left the agricultural area and went back home. Just as the door to our home came into view, we noticed something unusual. Someone was standing in front of the door? Once she saw that, Selene-san started getting flustered. That being the case, we left her behind along with the members of Baby Bird and we kept going to ascertain the identity of the figures in front of the door. As we got closer, we started to notice something about these figures. Hind, I think Im seeing the backs of someone really tall and someone short?(Yumir) Yeah. On top of that, both of them have these huge ass weaponsa greatsword and a big axe.(Hind) Whats thisIm getting dj vu? when I look at those backs.(Riizu) Aniki!(Tobi) Tobi shouted and started running towards them, it was just as I had thought. However, why are Albert and Philia in Sala? For the time being, we exchanged simple greetings and led the parent and child duo into one of our guest rooms. The members of Baby Birdsaid that it would be time to log out after they finished eating the pudding, and they gladly accepted it once I gave them my thanks while handing it over. According to Lycoris-chan, Eating something sweet at night and not being able to gain weight is the best!, or so she says. After they returned to their own home, now it was time to focus on Albert and his daughter. I prepared cookies called Maamoul that contained walnuts and figs and herbal tea. Once I did, Philia-chan started wolfing down the Maamouls I placed on top of a plate one after another. Dont tell me, she took a liking to them? They are tasty.(Philia) Is that so? Since it looked as if it wouldnt be enough, I took out a second serving, and that too did disappear into her mouth in an instant. Yup, its just like Albert said before, this girl is definitely going to grow tallshe sure eats well. While I was serving the guests, all the members of Migratory Bird gathered. You have set up quite the splendid Guild Home, Hind, Yumir.(Albert) Right!? Though that was to be expected!(Yumir) Having taken a sip of the herbal tea, Albert proceeded to say this after taking a look at the building. Leaving aside Yumir, Im a bit taken aback by how frankly he gave that compliment. Eh, yeah. All the members around us have outstanding after allso, whats your business here?(Hind) Aniki, if you needed something, I wish you would have contacted me beforehand.(Tobi) I apologize, Tobi. I should apologize to Hind and the rest of the members too, for suddenly coming unexpected. I just so happened to have mercenary work in Sala, so I was in a hurry. The truth is, I came here with a request for you.(Albert) Request?(Hind) This person sure asks for a lot of favors whenever she starts talking to usjust when I was thinking that, he took a huge amount of gold coins from the inventory and placed it on the table. The mountain of gold eventually started falling to the floor. We were dumbfounded. Following that, he took out ingots that had a different texture compared to iron, the table was full of different kinds of metal. Wait, what? What is he trying to do? With these, can you make m-no, I want you to make new weapons for both of us. Hindand that person over there, miss Selene.(Albert) Selene-san, who was looking at the situation from a distance, jumped in surprise once Albert directed his gaze at her. Chapter 104 - Reason for visiting. . Just a quick TL note this time. In a certain part of the chapter Hind is confused because Selene uses we when referring to the people that make the weapon and Albert used the plural form of you when hes making the request. This is because in Japanese, the way I/Me becomes We/Us is simply by adding _ (tachi) after it. Same thing with You. This kind of thing is not as subtle in English as it is in Japanese so the reason hes confused is more apparent in the original version. That will be all, enjoy the chapter. You see, I requested blacksmiths from various places to craft me a greatsword, however, none of them seemed to feel right to me.(Albert) Having said that, Albert proceeded to line up one greatsword after another on top of the table. He sure is doing whatever he wants in other peoples guild homethough this should be mostly part of his roleplay. That brusque personality of his does really make a point that hes a mercenary. The swords Albert had placed there, gave the feeling that they were out of the ordinary, you could tell with a single glance from this far away that they were excellent weapons. Ooh, this greatsword is a first rate +2! Hind, look at this!(Yumir) This one is +3! To not use these, what a waste!(Tobi) (Hind) Without even bothering to ask for permission, Yumir and Tobi immediately started touching the greatswords to get information from them. As expected from these two Once I asked Albert, he replied with I dont mind, in fact, Id like you to check them, so having heard that, I went to inspect one of the greatswords. ..Just as I thought, being first rate on top of being arranged to this sizethey have quite the attack power. If we were talking about the value of its attack power, its higher than the greatsword we sold Albert back then sowhat exactly is he dissatisfied with? I even went as far as to use the greatsword you sold me to adjust the center of balance, but it doesnt seem like that was the issue.(Albert) Sois it something like his intuition making him say that? Even if we are inside a game? Hmm. However, the person that is using them is the one considered to be the strongest player so theres merit to his words. And over there, it was Selene-san accompanied by Riizu timidly inspecting the swords that were lined up. It seems like rather than her fear of strangers, it was her curiosity as a master blacksmith that won over. This one, dont tell meis this the work of Brandon-san!?(Selene) Selene-san looked at the first sword with amazement. Having completely forgotten about her fear, she approached the gigantic Albert and talked to him. Yeah. Brandon also resides in the Beli Confederation so he was the first one we made a request to, unfortunately, he was only able to make a single sword for us.(Albert) This one is made by Vales-san and this other one by Madock-san! Arent all these greatswords made by famous crafters!?(Selene) Vales is from the Rust Kingdom and Madock is from the Mahl Republic. I dropped by their stores while doing mercenary work.(Albert) Albert said it as if it was nothing butthe players Selene-san mentioned were people even I knew about The reason for that is because those players were all lined up at the top when you sorted the weapon category by attack power in the trading BBS. They really stand out. You mean that our sword is better than the ones made by these famous master blacksmiths?(Selene) Thats right, I want a sword made by you. First off, I believe that Miss Selene would also be counted among those master blacksmiths. Theres no need to be so modest.(Albert) Hm? Our? You? I get the feeling theres something wrong with the way they worded things. That meansyou are counting me too? The one that named the weapon was Selene-san though?(Hind) Isnt that a given? This greatsword is a joint work between you both after all.(Albert) Hind-kun. In order for it to have the same weird feeling Albert mentioned again, as I thought, we might have to craft it in a similar situation as before(Selene) Eh, I dont think Im good enough of a master blacksmith(Hind) I believe Im quite mediocre, is what I told them. Its not a problem that has to do with your skill as a master blacksmith, he thoroughly emphasized that point. Furthermore, Selene-san looked at me as if she wanted to take this requestas youd expect she would be really happy, being requested this as a master blacksmith. For her to decide to do something on her own was quite unusual, so I should respect her wishes here. Ill leave the decision to Selene-san. If she decides to take the request, Ill do my best to help her out.(Hind) Thank you, Hind-kun. Albert-san, the request to craft a greatsword and an axe, Ill take it!(Selene) I owe you one!(Albert) With his daughter drinking tea at her own pace by his side, Albert bowed his head. After taking the request, we talked about the finer details of the deal. I believe the order we did things was wrong, but since there was no need to do things meticulously it was fine. This was a game after all. Once Tobi remembered that he still had homework he hadnt finished, he turned pale and logged out in a hurry. Since I didnt know about it, it probably had to do with supplementary lessonsdont forget those. And then, Yumir and Riizu were bored so they took Philia-chan with them and went to hunt some monsters in a nearby area. In the guest room, only the three of us remained. If it would be possible, I would like for both of you to keep making my weapons as long as you keep playing this game.(Albert) You mean you want to make a long term contract? However, theres the possibility of you not liking our weapons at some point, also, theres the possibility that an even more impressive blacksmith will appear in the future, so its nothing something I would recommend.(Hind) I also want to hear a proper evaluation of each sword I make. In order for you to be able to tell me that the weapon is not good when you are not satisfied with them, theres a need for us not to be bound by a contract.(Selene) Hmm(Albert) Hearing what we had to say, Albert started to think. Wanting a long term contract was something that a government worker, who would prefer stability like him would ask for and I could empathise with him. This being an online game that receives updates after a set time, theres only things like gear and consumable items to take into account. Wanting to acquire a supplier for those things, is something that I can understand. Before we go into details, lets exchange friend codes first. Itll make it easier to communicate.(Hind) Lets do that.(Albert) This was also to establish a relationship, me and Selene-san exchanged friend requests with Albert. The first time we met, I never thought that he would be a player we established such a deep connection with. Since our playstyles were so different, I thought that would be the only time we would meet. For us, like Selene-san said before, it would be ideal to undertake requests on a one by one basis. In the case that you dont like the weapon, we dont mind if you go to another blacksmith.(Hind) Well never know if youll always be satisfied with them after allyou are quite particular about the weapons you use and that is something I have noticed after talking to you so far. Since you are role playing as a mercenary, this is an important point for you after all.(Selene) Just by you taking that stance towards crafting, it already makes me think that it would be fine to enter a long term contract butno, its fine. Understood. However, Ill pay it in full in advance, if what you craft turns out to be better than I imagined, Ill give you additional pay. This is something I wont back down from.(Albert) In case the weapon thats made is not to his liking, he wont complain either, after saying that, he crossed his arms. It was a favourable contract with no demerits for us, me and Selene-san nodded to each other. The gold Albert showed us was way more than necessary, on top of that, he had also brought the ingots made from rare metals from the Beli Confederation. In that case, well accept those conditions.(Hind) Thank you. Me and Philia are in the Royal Capital of Waaha because of a request to guard some people that wanted to immigrate to it, we plan to be in Sala for around three days. Can I ask you to have the gear prepared within that time frame? If its not possible, I dont mind if you exten-(Albert) That wont be a problem. No matter how long blacksmithing takes in TB, its possible to craft a single sword within one hour.(Selene) Albert expressed the time frame he would want the weapon to be done in and Selene-san immediately gave him a reply. However, the Albert parent and child duo are going to be here for close to three days, huh Albert-san, actually, I have an idea.(Hind) Both of them looked at me with curiosity and I suggested them coming with us to investigate a certain place. He replied with Interestinglets go together, his face right now looked ferocious and he laughed in agreement. Eh, I know he didnt mean to do it like that but, anikiSelene-san is getting scared Chapter 105. - Pyramid exploration part 1. Peerless Albert Back with another chapter. Nothing much to say, next chapter is quite short so it should be up tomorrow, most likely? Enjoy the chapter. The next day, we were standing at the entrance of the pyramid. The menu window showed that our current location was King Knurls Pyramid. This was one of the many pyramids in the Yabilga desert and it also was the one with the lowest level monsters. It was also the one that Riizu scouted before. Even if I say the lowest, the monsters here were level 50 sosince the current cap is level 40, it might be a place we shouldnt be going into yet. The members from Migratory Bird were: me, Selene-san and Riizu. Besides that, the Albert parent and child duo were going to accompany us this time. Tobior should I say, Shuuhei, it seems like the homework he handed in was done quite poorly, so they asked him to redo it and hes studying today. Miyu seems to have gone out to eat outside with uncle Akifumi so shes not going to log in today. The truth is, we were going to decide who was going to participate via lottery or rock paper scissors but I feel bad for those two but we have managed to form a five man party without issues this way. Well then, I wonder what will show up in here.(Albert) Instead of only monsters, it would be nice if there was some treasure in there(Hind) Whats the scope of the place inside? For the time being, we have brought short swords as back up weapons.(Albert) Riizu should be able to answer Alberts question. That being the case, I gazed at my little sister, who was standing over there. The inside was really spacious, so I believe that Albert-san should be able to swing his greatsword around.(Riizu) Judging from what Riizu said, it seems like its more spacious inside than it looks. It also looks like there are lights at fixed intervals on the side, so exploring wont be an issue. Its probably set like this because its a game, its something that would have no real purpose realistically speaking and its done so that you can go in without worries. In that case, theres no issue. While we are moving, Ill be at the front and Philia will be at the rear. When we are fighting, well both be at the front. We are both Heavy Warrior, so feel free to use us as shields.(Albert) Ooh, so reliable. In that case, can I ask you to give all the instructions?(Hind) You do that, Hind. Philia and I will follow you instructions.(Albert) Yes, well obey.(Philia) Eh?(Hind) You wont do it? No matter how you look at it, this is a high difficulty dungeon, we came here after borrowing their strength. Especially if Albert aniki is here, wont we be able to do something even if theres a ten level difference? Thats the expectation Im having. Regarding the items we obtain here, if they are ingredients that can be used, theyll be used for the greatsword and axe, the leftovers will be left for us. As for the rest, weve agreed to divide them equally between us. In that case, lets get going.(Hind) After I gave the order, everyone nodded and we entered through the narrow entrance one by one. But, do I really have to act as a commander this time too? Since aniki is here, I thought Id be able to take it easy this time. Just as Riizu had said, the inside of the pyramid was different from what I had thought. Or rather, it was far different from the interior from real pyramids that I had read about. Instead of leading underground, it was a dungeon with stairs leading upwards, in this type of settingisnt there usually something at the top? Then, the first monster we met was a standard one, there was a mummy moving around. Seeing that, Riizu raised her voice and linked her arms with mine. Kyaa, Im scared, Hind-san.(Riizu) Your voice is really monotone Riizu-chan! Its really obvious that you just want to stick close to him!(Selene) To begin with, this should be the second time youve seen this monster(Hind) Hmph!(Riizu) Seeing how we acted without a hint of tension by giving us a side glance, Albert swung down his sword in a flash and left the monster with a slimmer of HP and Philia-chan finished it off with her axe. It was as if their offensive ability was saying that there was no meaning in their difference of levels. This parent and child duo are so strongthough I already knew that. It seems like there wont be any issues unless they come in groups. Hind, is it fine if I charge in without bothering to defend like Yumir does?(Albert) Ah, yes. Its obviously fine. Leave the healing to me.(Hind) (Philia) Philia-chan too, if you need support, dont be reserved and ask for it. I have learned buffing skills and I can heal status ailments.(Hind) Thank you.(Philia) It might be impossible to instantly revive them like I do with Yumir, but from what I saw in the tournament, these two know when to go in and retreat, so I believe they will be quite easy to revive in case they ever become incapacitated. Our members are all rearguards, so I believe it wont be that hard to work together. After that, we got into quite a few fights butAlbert and Philia started to move while keeping track of Selene-san and Riizus line of sight. They are worthy of the name Mercenaries, they can adapt really well. Even if it was an impromptu party, we had really good teamwork. Seah!(Albert) Oooh(Hind) Haaaaaaaaaah!(Philia) Uwah.(Hind) That being the case, for quite some now, we havent had the chance to do anything. On the way, Albert found the weak point of the male mummies, who were the most common enemies here, so as long as they didnt come in groups, we finished the battles before they could even attack. Once we reached the fifth floor, apart from the male mummies, mimics that acted as treasure chest, will-o-wisps etc appeared. You could say that a large number of undead type livingliving beings? Appeared there. They were the type that made you doubt if they were really alive or not. As we climbed floors, the levels of the monsters slowly increased, by the time we reached the ninth floor, their levels were at 55. By the way, regarding the treasure chests we found on our way, the way we found out if they were a mimic was -Muh!(Albert) To say it simply, Albert identified them. It seems like the one he touched right now was a mimic, the sharp teeth proceeded to bite his burly arm without any hesitation. There!(Albert) Albert violently slammed the mimic that had bitten his arm against a nearby wall and the battle started. But, just when I finished using healing magic on Albert, he proceeded to attack it instantly and the mimic was cut into small pieces. After all, the mimic was already nearly dead by the time aniki had slammed it against the walljust how strong is he, really. Normally, we would make use of the identification type skills from the balance type Light Warriors, however, this party currently doesnt have one. That being the case, we adopted this method of having Albert, whose HP was the highest, to forcibly touch the treasure chests without worrying about traps. Even if he takes damage or status ailments, theres a Shinto Priest here after all. After the battle was over, Albert, who wasnt breathing even slightly heavily, put away his greatsword and continued walking as if it was natural. And we just followed him as a group. However, since aniki is proceeding as the vanguard without any hesitation, our clearing speed is really fast. Hes really strong.(Hind) Thats true. if it were Yumir-san and Tobi-san, they would immediately start screaming and making noise each time we found a trap and we would stop. Even though its not like they are weak.(Riizu) Eh, these stairs lead tothe tenth floor, right? This pyramid, the dimensions of the exterior and interior really dont match up at all.(Selene) Now that she mentions it, the arena was the same. In both cases, if the interior and exterior had to match, they would be gigantic structures after all. Things like, making them so that they dont get in the way of the scenery, there are a lot of things that they have to take into account. Just then, the man that had quickly gone forward, turned back to us and stopped moving. Hind.(Albert) Whats wrong?(Hind) It seems like the tenth floor is a safe area, lets rest here.(Albert) I passed by Alberts big back and looked forward, over there was a peaceful room illuminated by sunlight from a portion of the wall that had collapsed. You could see the stairs leading to the next floor from here, a green light from under our feet appeared indicating that we had just entered a safe area. We put away our weapons and moved to a suitable place to sit down. Todays menu isLamb meat katsu sandwich. Since we are out exploring, I cut them in a way that would be easy to eat and handed one to each member, time to give it a bit- Hind, seconds.(Philia) You eat so fast! eh, sorry, sorry. Wait a moment.(Hind) The sauce was exquisite.(Philia) Having been interrupted by Philia-chan, I left my own portion aside for a moment and looked through the basket. Im glad I made some extra I took some katsu sandwiches from inside the basket and placed it on top of Philia-chans hand. She thanked me for them and returned to where Selene-san and Riizu were, then she started to sink her teeth on the katsu sandwiches that were in both of her hands. When I looked at that for no particular reason, Albert approached me. Sorry about that, Hind.(Albert) Its no problem. Philia-chan is working hard during fights after all.(Hind) Until now, thanks to this duo, our fights had been really stable. Im not sure how things will be in the next few floors, but it might be possible to somehow clear them until there are about twenty levels of difference between us. If it seems impossible, we have planned to just retreat. Today, Philia seems to be having more fun than usual. Now that I think about it, it might be because its the first time we have explored a dungeon.(Albert) Shes having more fun than usual? Looking like that?(Hind) As an outsider, she looked no different from how she usually was. He might know because they are family? As far as I am concerned, she still has the same blank expression as the first time I met her. Shes similar to me, please get along with my unsociable daughter. If shes to interact with all of you, Ill be at ease.(Albert) I-I see(Hind) I dont know what criteria Albert used to say that In that case, by taking advantage of this, I guess I should suggest to Philia-chan that we exchange friend requests. I was finally able to pick up my own portion of katsu sandwich and as I took a bite, I was enveloped in a sensation as if the fatigue was being taken away from me. Yup, its tasty. Chapter 106 - Pyramid Exploration. Part 2. Fire demon. Before you get into the chapter I just want to say that its not a typo made by me. The author stated in this chapter that the monsters finally went above level 50, when it was mentioned that the monsters in the last chapter were already level 55 by the time they reached the ninth floor. I went in and double checked but it seems like the author made a small mistake here. Then again, its not really that of a big deal in the grand scheme of things so I left it as is and translated as it is shown in the original. My guess would be that the monsters until the tenth floor were actually all lv50 and after the tenth floor they gradually became stronger, considering what happens at the end of this chapter. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. Once we left the resting area on the tenth floor, the enemies strength immediately went up. The time each fight took gradually increased and the speed at which we proceeded also slowed down. However, as we kept fighting, our teamwork improved. Timing of the buffs, who to target with debuffs, delaying the enemies with bolts, and the two people in the front exterminating everything. Even if our clearing speed decreased, the way we fought improved. If we are with you guys, it feels as if we could go anywhere.(Albert) Its comfortable(Philia) The three of us suddenly became busy, but it seems like the parent child duo took a liking to our support. We were currently on the twentieth floor and the monsters we met were finally above level fifty. As for the spoils we earned until now: there were some low grade gems, some cloth materials, a necklace with resistance to poison and a few small gold ingots These results are quite sad. The necklace does seem rare though.(Hind) This makes coming here not worth itisnt there some kind of destructible object around here? There are some walls here and there that we can investigate though.(Selene) In the end, there was no secret chamber so far. How much further should we climb? That would be hard to judge right now.(Hind) Since we were going to explore a place we had no information about, we had deposited all our money in case we wiped. However, I would want to avoid a situation where we wiped if possible. Aiming for results while making sure we played it safe, we carefully moved forward while taking those into consideration. Albert looked at us and placed his fingers on his mouth while being pensive. Fumuthere are dungeons like this all over the place in the continent.(Albert) Ah, do you know anything about them? Anythings fine, I would like to have some information.(Hind) There are obviously some players that were motivated to clear them and they entered them prematurely.(Albert) The parent and child duo had already bought horses and had gone to a lot of places to take requests. Due to that fact, they had obtained more information than us. Since they had collected what they had heard from a high amount of real players, the chances that they obtain credible information faster than the forum people can, is high. What he meant by prematurely isin other words, those that wanted to clear the dungeons before anyone else. Didnt those players ask you to cooperate with them to clear the dungeons?(Hind) Those types of players usually want to clear the dungeons with their own efforts. Since they are aiming to be the first ones, they monopolize the information and wont tell other players. Even if they were to request our help, that would be as a last resort.(Albert) Ah, its the type of situation you would only arrive at if you cared about appearances. They wouldnt want to clear by borrowing the strength of a mercenary, or something like that.(Hind) Thats why I only know that on the twentieth floor there will be a boss class monster. This is something that I didnt hear from the players themselves but you could say it was from hearsay.(Albert) So you mean that, there will be a boss monster here?(Hind) Though it is unknown if this boss will be a mid-boss or the real boss of the dungeon. However, if those people that aimed to clear dungeons first had already done so, there would be more people talking about it, so most likely Theres no player that has cleared the twentieth flooror something like that? Most likely.(Selene) Selene-san seems to have had the same line of thought as me. If there hasnt been an increase in the amount of information released, it would mean something like that. The exception to that would be As long as theres not any strong players aiming for the top that dont mind releasing that information, it will be like this.(Hind) To begin with, wouldnt it be announced inside the game if someone cleared them? Like when you first beat the field boss of an area.(Riizu) After hearing those words from Riizu, I remembered. Now that I think about it, when we defeated the Venom Scorpion, our names werent announced Field Bosses and Area Bosses are gatekeepers that reside in multiple places throughout the continent, so I guess they are not that of a big deal to be a topic people talked about all the time. Among the names of players that are mentioned often, are the players we fought in the semifinals of the tournament. The party of Licht. Now that you mention it. I havent seen the completion of a dungeon being announced even a single time.(Hind) It not like we are always logged in, so theres the chance that we might have missed it(Selene) But since its a topic that hasnt been talked about in the BBS at all, wouldnt that mean that it hasnt happened yet? Even if it happened during the day when theres fewer players, it would have been impossible for no one to have seen it.(Riizu) Do you guys like to discuss that sort of thing? I stopped and noticed I had lost sight of you.(Albert) After listening to Alberts voice, we went to where he was. Its true that even if we talked about it right now, there would be no real meaning When Yumir and Tobi are not here and its only us three rearguards, it tends to become like this quite often. Normally-(Hind) Yes. Yumir-san would say something like, I dont get it so is it fine if I just go ahead?, she would say something like that and keep going alone. Right, Secchan?(Riizu) Ah, yes. Its true that it would be like that, yup. I feel like Tobi-kun would do something similar.(Selene) I see.(Albert) Butit balances things out?(Philia) Muttered Philia-chan as she tilted her head. The passage suddenly came to an end and we came out to a dimly lit hall. The first thing we noticed after entering that hall, was that the temperature was far higher and it was sort of hard to breathe Everyone stop, theres something further in the back!(Albert) Albert signaled us to stop by raising one hand and we stopped in place. The thing that appeared from within the darkness, gave off a sense of presence that we could feel at a single glance even from this distance. Because that things body was Its body is burning?(Hind) I think it would be more accurate to say that the fire is taking the form of a human. It seems like this is the boss of this area!(Albert) Albert replied so to my murmurs, he took out his greatsword and took a stance aimed at the fire avatar. In reaction to that, the monsters fire burned violently, it was unreservedly showing that it held hostility towards us. The displayed level was 55, the name of the monster wasVestiges of King Knurl We had already taken a stance with our weapons and followed after Albert who slashed at the monster. Chapter 107 - Pyramid Exploration. Part 3. Being on the verge of death and the little girl’s talent. Hi there, Nothing much to say this time, enjoy the chapter. -Mun!(Albert) The fire demon Vestiges of King Knurl howled as his HP was shaved off by Alberts strong attack. Seeing that made us think that this boss might be easier than we thought, but reality was different. This monster always has a continuous slow HP regeneration, so if we leave it alone, itll slowly recover its HP but The problem wasnt that, it was its high attack power. Guh!(Albert) !(Philia) The fire demon released a heatwave without any preemptive movements and Albert took damage. Avoiding it was hard, furthermore, it was an attack with both physical and magical properties so since our frontline was made of two heavy warriors, if they took a direct hit, they would be on the verge of dying. Because of that, we were forced to attack carefully. To my astonishment, Philia-chan showed beast-like movements and dodged them. On top of that, it had a fixed probability to inflict the status ailment Burn. It was really annoying. Riizu!(Hind) Yes!(Riizu) I casted Healing Plus and in addition to that, Riizu used Darkness Ball to stop the monster in place. While praying that a long range attack didnt come, I took some distance along with Riizu, who had used the spell to cover me and released the Healing Plus on Albert. Then, as soon as the fire demon turned towards us, Selene released her Blast Arrow. While blowing the fire away, the bolt released along with a gust of wind and penetrated the demons chest. The displayed HP did decrease, however, it showed no reaction to it. It also showed no signs that it wanted to go after Selene-san, who had released the bolt. (Philia) Philia-chan glanced at me for a second and we exchanged looks, then she activated Heavy Stance. It should be a skill that increases her attack and physical defense, although it doesnt increase magic resistance. On top of that, if she went as far as too look at me.does that mean she plans to go in and deal as much damage as she can until she gets incapacitated? In that case I supported the girl that took a stance as if she was going to release a strong skill with Attack up. Since I used a buff, the demon released fire at me, this is the only attack of his thats easy to read. I dodged it and started casting Revive. Go, Philia! Its time to show your power!(Albert) Yes!(Philia) Hearing those words from Albert, Philia-chan lowered the axe to the altitude of her hips and took a stance, then she took a big breath. Next, she rushed at it, the little girl became a tornado once she was in front of the fire demon. Tornado Swingwith her own body as the center, she violently spun around along with her axe. The mass of fire was being dispersed. If it was a player with weak semicircular canals like Yumir, it would be a skill where you would self destruct instantly, but if you were able to use it properly, it had incredible power. Pummeling the monster with the attack power of a Heavy Warrior but the speed of an average Light Warrior was the highlight of this skill. In the end, after she dealt around thirty percent of the Vestiges of King Knurls HP in damage, she was enveloped in flames due to its counterattack and became incapacitated. This was a display that showed that she was really her dads daughter, it was as if she was showing off to us. Incredible(Selene) Theres also the fact that she didnt miss at all even though she was spinning around that much, but for her to go towards those flames without a hint of fear(Riizu) Selene-san and Riizu leaked those thoughts. Leaving aside their appearances, they were really father and daughtereven if she doesnt talk much, an overflowing amount of fighting spirit was packed in that small body of hers. Alright, done! Albert-san!(Hind) I know! Leave it to me!(Albert) A few seconds after Philia-chan became incapacitated, I released Reviveon her and she unsteadily stood up. During that time, Albert acted as a wall and didnt let a single attack go towards us. What was this sense of security? The enemy had around thirty percent HP left, we just needed another push. Just when everyone was thinking that, something unusual happened. The moment Alberts slash took down its HP to under twenty percent. The fire demons body swelled up to many times its size andexploded. -!?(Albert) !!(Hind) Due to the explosion, all of us were sent flying towards the ceiling, walls, floor without being able to make a single sound. -Gahah! Hah, hah(Hind) While trying to contain the feeling of heat coming through my throat, I looked in front of me and saw the other four members not moving at all while facing the ground. This is bad, so so bad! If I had died, we would have wiped! It seems like that explosion was a powerful skill that triggered once its HP reached a certain point. While running away from the demon that was rampaging around because it had entered berserk mode, I was frantically thinking about who I should revive first. A rearguard is no good, both of them dont have the ability to distract the enemy while they dodge around! That leaves it to Albert or Philia-chan butAlberts fighting style is one where you could say that his offensive skill is his greatest defense, one where he shuts down his opponents with his overwhelming offensive power. That being the case, against an opponent that doesnt have a physical body and mainly attacks with magic attacks, buying time would be hard for him because of bad compatibility. Thinking back on the reflexes she showed a while ago, I made my decision. I took out a Holy Water from my inventory and increased the distance with the fire demon with a backstep. Theres only one chance, if I fail, itll enter CD and I wont be able to use it again. The fire demon raised its arm and violently swung it down. I went under it while narrowly escaping getting hit, brandished the bottle and threw it! Please hit!(Hind) The bottle I had no other choice but to throw due to the demons violent attacks, hit the little girl and broke. It shined with a pale light and the liquid enveloped Philia-chans body. ?(Philia) Looking as if she didnt understand what was going on, Philia raised half of her body and looked around. Cant be helped, Yumir, who had gotten used to dying was an abnormality. But, please notice me already, geez! !! Hind, look out!(Philia) It was the first time I heard her shout. Having no time to be surprised about that, I rolled to get away from the flames. Once I took a stance in a panic to anticipate the next attack, I saw a slender body in front of me that acted as if it was protecting me Hind, Ill leave healing everyone to you. Ill do my job as a vanguard.(Philia) -! Yeah, Im counting on you!(Hind) I threw anIntermediate Potionat the small back in front of me and recovered her HP. Believing in her physical ability, I started casting Revive, which had come back up. The target is the one with the highest magical resistance after Shinto Priests, the mage Riizu. ..Tsk!(Philia) Philia-chan: jumped, rolled, ran and at times she bent down and took a posture that made it look as if she was running on four legs and moved around to avoid the demon. While holding a heavyweight class weapon, she displayed dodging skills that would put a Light Warrior to shame, seeing that, it made me confirm that choosing her had not been a mistake. Those movements are mesmerizing. Then I finished casting Revive, once Riizu got up, she used a Holy Wateron Albert. Albert opened his eyes wide once he saw his daughter fighting alone, but he remained calm and used aHoly Wateron Selene-san. With this, everyone is is revived and lastly, I used Area Heal to instantly make us able to go back into the fight. Philia-chan, who was finally in tatters, fell back and Albert switched in as the tank. You did well, Philia. Leave the rest to dad.(Albert) Yup,(Philia) The moment he passed by her, Albert lightly patted Philia-chans head with his big hand. Ah, I get the feeling that Philia-chan made a small smile right nowno, was it my imagination? Now that Im looking at her, she has that usual blank expression on her. The Vestiges of King Knurl had recovered its HP up to around forty percent, but having witnesses all the effort his daughter had gone through, Albert was filled with fighting spirit he didnt have before. He had already activated Berserker Edge and his body was enveloped in a dark red aura. The three of us, members of Migratory Bird, exchanged glances and Riizu used Guard Downon the boss and I cast Attack Upon Albert. Red light converged in his greatsword, he had started to charge Rampage. Ignoring us, who had used buffs and debuffs, the Vestiges of King Knurl stayed in place. While dodging its attacks by a hairs breadth, Albert kept charging up. Immediately he had finished charging up, it released a dazzling light and Selene-sans Blast Arrowhit the demons body. Just as the Vestiges of King Knurl had its movements stopped by the bolt, Albert leaped forward. While holding his greatsword over his head, he released all his strength in a single blow along with a war cry filled with fighting spirit! Uooooooooooooooh!(Albert) A thunderous roar. The forty percent of HP remaining on the enemy magnificently vanished and the flames dispersed. Goodness gracious, thats a boss monster 15 levels ahead of us you knowto have it be defeated like that in a single blow is a bit Holding a weapon, which weight had been pushed to its utmost limit, throwing away his defense and completely charging up his attack while dodging. Making his motion of attack as big as possible, furthermore, aiming at its weak point, which was the head, with pinpoint accuracy. In theory, if a Heavy Warrior can do it, anyone else can do it, but actually doing it is another story. As expected from someone whose strength was from another dimension. Having discerned that the battle was over, Albert calmly put away his weapon on his back. We all took a big breath and exchanged smiles. That was dangerousIm glad we managed to win. Like that, the unnatural high temperature of the room was gone, when we turned around because we heard the sound of something falling, we found a treasure chest placed there. I guess I should say this was to be expected, a stream of words appeared in our field of view. Regarding the dungeon, Pyramid of King Knurl, the party of : Mercenary Albert-sama, Philia-sama, Selene-sama, Riizu-sama and Hind-sama has conquered the twentieth floor. Congratulations! Chapter 108. - Usage of the reward from our travels. Hi there, Just something small to point out this chapter. While investigating the name of the item they received for beating the boss. I ended with the name Rubrum, which is apparently the word for Red in Latin. (Feel free to correct me if Im wrong) Just a quick small bit of trivia is that most of the sources for the name in the original text linked to a monster in older Final Fantasy games called Rubrum Dragons in Japanese. However the localization for those games changed them to Ruby Dragons. Well, just some random thing I felt like pointing out, enjoy the chapter. We had become tired after this last fight, so we decided that stopping at floor twenty was a good idea. There were stairs leading to further floors, but in everyones eyes it was reflected that continuing would prove to be difficult. If a boss came out here, it was expected that it would become harder from now on. Therefore, no one was against retreating here. Furthermore, there were five treasure chests in front of us. Its the same number as the number of people here, so would it be OK for each one of us to pick one? Good work everyone. Well then, shall we open these treasur-(Hind) Hind, Im hungry(Philia) Ah, ehuh, hmm?(Hind) Immediately after I placed a hand on a treasure chest, Philia-chans vigor plummeted. Our hunger gauges havent decreased that much thoughis it a matter of her mood? I rummaged through my inventory and took out the last remaining pudding. Here you go.(Hind) When I handed it to her along with a wooden spoon, the little girl thanked me and immediately started eating. Even Albert, who was always calm, started to show an embarrassed expression on his face. Sorry that this is happening so often, Hindhowever, it seems like my daughter has taken a liking to you. Its rare for her to show this amount of selfishness to other people.(Albert) I get the feeling that she has taken a liking to the food rather than me though(Hind) Thats not true, I was happy that you revived me first.(Philia) Eating while wearing a blank expression, she denied my words. Behind Philia-chan, Selene-san was trying to keep Riizu, who was raising her eyebrows, in check by wrapping her arms around her from behind. Its not likeI revive people to gain likability points though When I told her that, as youd expect, Philia-chan tilted her head. I guess its like that. You are recognizing me as a player. To be recognized by someone like you, makes me happy.(Philia) With that, as if she had gotten tired of speaking, Philia-chan shut her mouth. Oh, thats wrong. She only opened her mouth to eat the pudding. Albert nodded at her daughters words in agreement, to be honest, I was a bit shaken by the fact that they held me in that high regard. Waitah, thats right! The treasure, the treasure chests! Lets get rid of this delicate and tepid atmosphere by moving things forward, yeah. That will be fine. I-In that case, shall we check the contents of these treasure chests? I doubt these ones will have any traps placed on them after all.(Hind) Once we simultaneously opened the chests, the contents inside all of them were the same. They felt warm when we picked them up, they were fist sized clear red stones. It seems like they are called Rubrum Stones, they are classified as elemental stones and othersothers? While shaking on the back of the camel, I inspected the gems. When it comes to elemental stones usage, you could place them in the grip of a weapon, and in the case of a staff, you could place them on one end of it Leaving aside the fact that this stone is clearly of the fire element, I wonder what the other usage for it is?(Hind) When we touched them a pop-up saying Do you want to use it? appeared butit would be scary to use them here.(Selene) It would be troublesome if they started blowing fire, lets do it once we get back home. Leaving that aside-(Hind) Riizu was glaring at me. Though its true that I was currently riding a camel with Philia-chan. Why are you not riding one with your father!? When we came here you did that, right!?(Hind) I feel bad for the camel because dad is heavy. It looked exhausted by the time we were reaching our destination.(Philia) He should weigh around 150kg if you add the armor and the greatsword after allI wonder if its his policy? He refuses to unequip his gear. Philia-chan is light, but even if she removed all her gear, she should weigh between 30~40kg. If we count that as the reason, I guess its not that odd that she moved over here. By the way, the reason Philia-chan doesnt have her own camel is because Its scary to ride one alone, or so she says. Even when they ride a horse, it seems like they usually ride one together too. When it comes to fights, he positively seeks them out and acts as some sort of barbarian. I actually dont get Alberts standards and the way he acts. Isnt he just too overprotective? Albert looked over here in sadness as if he was saying Philia-chan, come over here. I dont think I can consider this action of hers as one of being independent of ones parents though. If you hate it that much, take off your armor and put away that sword, I would honestly prefer it if she rode a camel with you. In that case, wouldnt it be fine if you rode one with me or Secchan!? We are lighter than Hind-san!(Riizu) Riizu seems like the type of person thats quick to anger so no. Selene becomes frightened if I get close to her(Philia) I-Im sorry. For still not being able to get used to you(Selene) Riizu. Well arrive in Waaha shortly, so its not something you should be that bothered by?(Hind) She has grown strangely attached to me, but shes not one to pull pranks like Siesta-chan and remains silent. In reality, it was as if I was holding a slightly heavier doll, so it was not as if I was against it. It was as if I was looking after a relatives child, a feeling akin to babysitting. Ive rode along with quite a few girls by now, so my feelings have gone numb in a sense. Whatever! Ill go to your room once we log out, you better prepare yourself, nii-san!(Riizu) What should I be prepared for? I exchanged glances with Philia-chan and we both tilted our heads. Once we returned to the guild home, we moved close to a source of water and placed the Rubrum Stoneon top of a metal plate and used it. We were curious about what kind of item it was, so even if it was quite late, everyone remained without logging out. Once we used it So hot!(Hind) I retracted my finger in reflex. It didnt blow fire, but it released heat high enough that it warped the air around it. A-Are you OK, Hind-kun?(Selene) It didnt really happen immediately after using it, but thats some terrifying heat. Actually, look(Albert) The iron plate started to turn bright red and smoke came out of it. The liquid that was once a plate started to spread on the ground, like that, the surroundings started to melt and the gem proceeded to start sinking. -Wait, this is bad, Hind-san! How are we going to stop this!(Riizu) W-Water! For now use water!(Hind) Leave it to me! Everyone, step back!(Albert) Using the buckets we had prepared beforehand, Albert drew water from the canal and threw it on top of the stone. A large amount of vapor was produced and when it seemed as if it had settled down we cautiously came closer The Rubrum Stone had stopped emitting heat and was laying there. T-These are so hard to use It seems like they are the type of items that dont get consumed on use, but on top of taking a bit of time to increase its temperature, it seems like itll be impossible to throw them and use them as a way to attack. Watching these chains of events, Albert finished it with this. As an item, it is hard to use. However, theres the fact that its possible that youd be able to deal high rank fire element attacks if you attached them to a weapon.(Albert) W-What do you want to do? If you leave it to us, we could use them for your greatsword and axe.(Selene) After Selene-san suggested that, Albert crossed his arms and started to think. And after exchanging some words with Philia-chan, he said this. In that case, make Philias axe an elemental weapon. In our case, there are a lot of times where we lack attacks with magical properties after all. Since I want to request mine to be non elemental, you can keep the remaining stone.(Albert) Are you sure? This item, I believe its extremely valuable given the current state of the game.(Selene) I dont mind. They might be difficult to work with, but you guys have something in mind, right?(Albert) Albert said that as he looked at us. Well, I guess he guessed that by looking at our facesif its this item, the number of uses it has is limited. As a test, we all said out loud what we were thinking, and it turns out that we were thinking the same thing, namely Fuel for the furnace.(Hind) Fuel for the furnacemaybe? If everything goes well, the amount of alloys I can make will increase.(Selene) Fuel for the furnace, right? I cant think of anything else.(Riizu) The answer we arrived at was this one. If it turned out that it was impossible to use within the firebrick, it would have no other use like the rest of the elemental stones. (TLN: As in, no other use but to add elemental properties to gear) Chapter 109 - Thread regarding the dungeons Hi there, First off, the numbering in the comments during the thread portion were messed up because the author kinda forgot to insert a number in a comment very early on in the thread so all of the comments were off by one number, I manually fixed that one by one. I believe there might be a chance for the releases to slow down slightly though at most itll be a release every two days or so? Cant make any promises but I think Ill take it a bit easier though I do have something I might want to do in mind. Still, nothing you should be too worried about, releases will still keep coming for the time being. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. Nii-san!(Rise) Uwah!(Wataru) As soon as we logged out, Rise invaded my room with unbelievable speed. Due to the force with which she opened the door, the door hit the stopper and rebounded. I was so shocked that I nearly fell from my bed. I thought I told you that Id go to your room after we logged out! Well then, prepare yourself!(Rise) You werent just joking!? Before that, didnt we log out at the same time!?(Wataru) You would usually feel a bit dizzy for a while after you log out thoughfast, she was too fast. While we exchanged those words between us, from the first floor we heard our mom tell us You both are being too loud. Finally realizing we were making a scene, we toned down our voices and closed the door. Rise sat down on the chair and I returned to my bed and sat down facing her. Nii-san, what you did was no good. Girls mature earlier. Even if its fine now, you wont know when Philia-chan will start seeing you as a member of the opposite sex you know? From now on, abstain from making physical contact with her.(Rise) Is that so? I didnt feel like it was going anywhere in that direction though(Wataru) If it reaches that point, nii-san, youll have to start calling Albert-san father in law you know!? Are you fine with that!? To have that macho man as a father in law!(Rise) You sure skipped quite a few steps in thereYou are jumping into conclusions here.(Wataru) From acknowledging someone as a member of the opposite sex to directly getting married, whats with her train of thought? However, I cant deny that weve acted quite overfamiliar there. Well, if you say so, Ill be careful. Even if shes young, a girl is a girl. You mean that I should keep things in moderation and deal with things properly? And that for someone that we just met, we are too close.(Wataru) Thats right. Years of experience and a sense of distance are important. They are important!(Rise) Why did you say that twice?(Wataru) Just so we are clear, its the same for other girls OK!? Like Siesta-san, like Siesta-san!(Rise) S-Sure(Wataru) Even if the other party doesnt mind it, as Rise said, I might have to be a bit more careful. By the way, in TB, if you try to touch someone else when they clearly dont want you to do so, youll be given a warning. This is different from attacking and defending in battle though. When you are being given the warning, your body will be transported a certain distance within seconds. Its also set so that the warning will disappear if you stop and raise both of your arms. For people that cross the line, the management will get into contact with them. If it comes down to that, youll be forcibly logged out after a few seconds. Even if you say that, I believe thats just her genuinely getting attached to me though? I dont think itd change that easily to liking another person as a member of the opposite sex? To begin with, since we were kids, the only girls that paid me any attention were you and Miyu. I dont have that kind of manly charm.(Wataru) Nii-san doesnt know a thing! Shes not the type that goes for who is popular, girls with unusual personalities are the most dangerous! If she was going for the popular types, based on looks alone, she would have gone for Shuuhei from the start!(Rise) Dangerous you sayI mean, right. For the time being, I got it. Even I wouldnt want Albert to glare at me more. Besides, the conversation we had just now had nothing to do with Shuuhei, right?(Wataru) After that, the three of us had exchanged friend codes with Philia-chan and after doing some discussions about the balance of Alberts weapon, we split up. I believe the next time well see the parent and daughter duo will be when the weapon is finished. Afterwards, even if it was close to bedtime, Rise sat down in my room and didnt go back to hers. It couldnt be helped so I cleaned Rises ears. Once I started doing so, she looked as if she was in bliss, like that, I took her into her room and put her to sleep. This is when her being so simple helpssince she was young, her ears were her weak point. Then, before I went to sleep I took a look at a thread I was interested in. It was the Thread to talk about dungeons. Due to the announcement earlier, I wonder if people have already leaked the information. I turned on the pc and browsed the page. InformationThread to talk about dungeons 2Please! This is a thread to talk about the dungeons in TB. In case you are going to talk about a specific dungeon please add the name of the country, the field name and the name of the dungeon. Ignore the trolls and be well mannered. The next thread will be made once we reach >950 comments. 53Nameless Light WarriorIDB5Uh3ta Theres really no information at allthe thread has become stale. 54Nameless MageIDuy9HpzR In one of those that you have to go underground, I reached the tenth floor but it went badly, since the enemies are strong, we couldnt clear it. 55Nameless KnightID9CYD56p This thread is going so slowly. For there to have been no replies for half a day is 56Nameless Shinto PriestIDFGMnsHp Its because of a Tengu, its the work of a Tengu! 57Nameless Heavy WarriorIDELYDf5P Its because the people that want to clear them dont want to release the information. 58Nameless Shinto PriestIDFGMnsHp Dont give him a serious reply LOL. Leaving the jokes aside, its also kinda because its too early with our current level cap, maybe? 59Nameless ArcherIDVZV5MAQ In the lowest ones, the enemies in the first floor were around 45 right? It feels like the developers are telling us Not yet. 60Nameless KnightID9CYD56p No, since they let us enter them, wouldnt it be something like Try clearing this! instead? 61Nameless Light WarriorIDB5Uh3ta Right? If they didnt want us to enter them, they would prohibit us from entering until it was time. 62Nameless Heavy WarriorIDArH96cS Oh, unexpectedly, there are people in this thread today. Did something happen? 63Nameless Shinto PriestIDFGMnsHp Not really. I have free time because of the event, isnt it just a coincidence and all the people that dont want to participate in it came here? 64Nameless Martial ArtistID2y5naAt For people that like to fight, apart from getting money, they would go to unexplored areas. They would also avoid going into dungeons. 65Nameless Heavy WarriorIDArH96cS I see Well, Im also one of those though. 66Nameless ArcherIDVZV5MAQ Even if there are people here, we are just chilling here. ( ??`)_~~ɥ (Here have some tea). What was the time we cleared floor twenty again? Theres no doubt that it would be when the thread was really active though. I kept scrolling through the replies and there was a portion where there were many replies within a short time frame in this desolated thread. Should be around here 113Nameless MageIDeeNsez7 Is there anyone logged in right now? Unless I saw it wrong, I get the feeling I saw captions saying someone reached floor twenty. 114Nameless ArcherIDE8Zjms9 I saw it, I saw it! Even though I was aiming to clear a floor twenty boss (Χ`)?b?. 115Nameless KnightIDu43G6YX @114 You were aiming for it huhhow should I say this, good job LOL. 116Nameless Shinto PriestIDNnNpRR9 Eh, the ones that cleared it showed up? Did the names appear too? 117Nameless MageIDdyGxpw7 I saw it too, the one that cleared it was that guy. 118Nameless Light WarriorIDwsBwQpU D-Dont tell meit was Alb- something. 119Nameless MageIDdyGxpw7 Yup, it was Mercenary Albert LOL. Its gotten to the point where youd expect his name to appear LOL. 120Nameless KnightIDwsBwQpU Y O U A G A I N? 121Nameless MageIDdyGxpw7 True Self too. Hero-chan was not in there for some reason, but it was a five man party. 122Nameless KnightIDwsBwQpU Y O U T O O? 123Nameless Martial ArtistIDp6gGFK5 Eh In a way, its a combination that I can sort of understand. Arent they the winners and the runner up of the tournament 124Nameless ArcherIDE8Zjms9 I thought that if it was PvE I wouldnt lose to them, my pride is in shambles. (??`) 125Nameless Shinto PriestIDuAeWGk8 Albert and Philia, I also know about True Self, but who are the other two? 126Nameless Heavy WarriorID6QNhPeZ To begin with, Philia-chan was Alberts partner, right? The other two should be people one of them knows? 127Nameless Light WarriorIDkX8Hnhm @125 Riizu is someone from True Selfs side right? She fought alongside True Self at that time with the turtle replay. 128Nameless KnightIDRhmHGPJ I get the feeling I saw the name Selene somewhere 129Nameless ArcherIDWrQXYjg Me too, me too. But I cant remember where. 130Nameless MageIDSz86Jhm @128 @129 Wasnt it in the trading BBS? Shes a top ranked blacksmith, judging from the name she should be a girl, but since there are not many people that have seen her, I think no one knows the gender. 131Nameless Heavy WarriorIDUg9gTEC Wouldnt that make it a legit, serious party!? Did the True Self hire him? Albert. 132Nameless KnightID3c4exF2 Even though he has Hero-chan as a vanguard, would he need to do that? 133Nameless Shinto PriestIDeeW34hj Arent they Friends? They have participated in events together twice after all. 134Nameless Light WarriorIDPBZW7ZA In that case, hes having Albert fight for freeIm so jealous. 135Nameless ArcherIDWrQXYjg Its pretty expensive isnt it? To hire Albert as a mercenarythough I dont know the details. 136Nameless Heavy WarriorIDuZykSSB Is that so? How much? 137Nameless KnightIDEZEtdQR Albert has a personal blog, so go there and look it up yourself. 138Nameless Heavy WarriorIDuZykSSB So strict LOL Well then, guess Ill go take a look. 139Nameless ArcherIDE8Zjms9 Since theres no meaning in hiding information about the twentieth floor, Ill leave this information here ?There are traps and mimics acting as chests in every dungeon. ?The boss is on floor twenty, once you deal enough damage to its HP, itll do a powerful attack that hits everyone. ?The monsters on the way share the same elemental weakness, the boss can be the same but there are cases when its a different element. Something like this, my party couldnt get through the party wide attack and was wiped. This is the information I got from three dungeons. Even though we were making new armour to clear the dungeons 140Nameless MageIDSz86Jhm In that case, Ill provide some additional information. ?The difference in levels between the monsters on the way is around five levels every ten floors. ?The boss regenerates its HP. ?Theres a rest area every ten floors. Something like that. And theres apparently bosses that can heal themselves often and lean more towards battles of endurance. Our second dungeon was like that, our healing items were the first to be gone and it was over for us. 141Martial ArtistIDzpd2fKN Good work out there, you two And thanks for the information. 142Nameless MageIDSz86Jhm Well, this is just information we observed from a few dungeons The information in @139 @140 is not much of a secret so theres nothing wrong with saying it. Even if the names of the people that clear it are announced now, the value of it will decrease. Judging from how the announcement went, there should be something higher than floor twenty. Next time, Ill aim to be the first to clear floor forty. 143Nameless ArcherIDE8Zjms9 Its so sad (??`) There it is, just as I expected, theres information about other dungeons here and there. So endurance based bosses also exist huhare they something like the Basilisk? The one we fought should be the offensive type that the archer mentioned. Theres also other information here, there are bosses that make use of the terrain and also those that use status ailments frequently. After reviewing more information, I turned off my PC and went to the bathroom. Chapter 110 - Harvesting and selective breeding Nothing to point out this time, enjoy the chapter By the way, where did you go to have dinner yesterday?(Hind) Hmm? Sushi not served in conveyor belts! They were tasty!(Yumir) While harvesting the crops after logging into TB, I chatted with Yumir about what happened yesterday. In my hand was a small sickle, I tossed what I harvested into my inventory one after another. I had just finished talking about our exploration of the pyramid with Albert and Philia, then shifted the conversation to what Miyu went to eat yesterday. However, a high grade sushi store huhIm so jealous. Ah, fish is also nice. We ate hamburgers.(Hind) Hamburgers!? At home!?(Yumir) Yeah. Made the buns with fermented dough and toasted them, I also tried making homemade hamburgers from scratch. Since mom and Rise looked happy, I think they came out well. I think for next time, I might prepare pickles.(Hind) gulp.(Yumir) Yumir made a sound with her throat and her hands stopped moving. That would have been fine by itself, but she was approaching me while begging me with her eyes. So close, her face is so close. I get it, I got it! Next time Ill make a portion for you too.(Hind) You are not lying right!?(Yumir) More importantly, look, dont stop moving your hands. Today its only both of us here, if we just talk, well never finish.(Hind) Umu! Though even if you say that, as you can see, about half of them have withered!(Yumir) Dont say it, itll make me sad(Hind) Even with the improved soil, half of the medicinal herbs we had planted had withered. I think the biggest reason is that its too hot over here for them When it comes to the succulent plants, they have grown pretty big in just a few days without any issues. Though I guess thats pretty obvious considering those plants are local ones. But Yumir, have you noticed? We are picking the medicinal herbs along with seeds right?(Hind) I can see that, is there anything wrong with them?(Yumir) Along with the normal seeds, there are some weird ones mixed in there. Look at them carefully.(Hind) Since the inventory automatically sorts things, it should be easy to see. Hearing my words, Yumir opened her window menu and operated it. Resistance?(Yumir) They have resistance to heat level 1. In other words, these medicinal herbs(Hind) You mean that they have adapted to the heat?(Yumir) It seems like thats the case. If we can stock up on this generation of medicinal herbs that have heat resistance, in other words-(Hind) Ooh!(Yumir) Yumirs face brightened up. Theres the possibility in the future that the number of medicinal plants that wither will drastically decrease. Plants inside the game grow way faster than in real life, so theres a possibility that it becomes reality in the not so far future. Once we are done with the medicinal herbs, I want to grow some food ingredients.(Hind) Potatoes, Hind! We should grow potatoes!(Yumir) You, you were just reminded of the hamburgers and are thinking about..French fries?(Hind) Umu! Ah, just so you know, I also plan to eat that hamburger in real life OK!? I dont want to do it inside the game! Even if it tastes the same!(Yumir) I know.(Hind) To begin with, since the cookware is different, theres no way they would taste the same. The seasoning would also be different from real life. Now that I think about it, I have never had that taste inside the gamethey dont appear that often, monster meat that is. Speaking of ingredients, in order to raise cattle, we should make an area with grass.(Hind) Something like cows, pigs andbirds?(Yumir) Thats right. There is far more preliminary work involved compared to a farmland, so well have to do a lot of planning since itll be difficult.(Hind) We would also need a shed among other things, even though there are games out there that prepare everything for you(Yumir) We had already bought a plot of land for that purpose, so we plan to go through the same soil improvement method in the future. Like Yumir said, we also need to build a shed to raise animals in it, itll take some time until we can finally start with that. We cant really afford to work on it currently. We might have been able to use one that was originally in a village or something, but unfortunately, Waaha didnt really have an agricultural district. In a way, its as if we were forced to do farmwork in a big city, there were no small amount of inconveniences. We stopped chatting for a little bit and for a short amount of time, we just kept harvesting. Hey, Hind. Hasnt it been a while since we were alone for this long?(Yumir) Probably. We were only alone during the games launch, shortly after, RiseI mean, Riizu joined us.(Hind) That midgetmuttered Yumir as her face warped once she remembered that. However, she returned to normal instantly, faced me and said. If you were to ask me, I would be happy if we could spend alone together like this once in a whileis that no good?(Yumir) She was acting quite meekly and looked at me as if she wanted to know what I thought about it. I thought for a second that I should make fun of her, but I stopped myself. If I angered her here, she would not talk to me until tomorrow morning. Though she would forget after she went to sleep. You sure are saying something unusual. Its not like you hate it when its lively, right?(Hind) I rather like it? I dont mean that, my time with you is like when you say you have a different stomach for cake. You could say that its like some nutrient that I definitely nee-(Yumir) Your comparisons sure are weird as always. You even infected my mom with it But well, I sort of get what you mean. Lets see(Hind) I used the serious side of my brain and thought about it. At school or at home, its true that the chances for both of us to be alone were few. Ill make some time for us to be alone like this. Today might have been a coincidence buthow about I shift the times a bit from time to time and we log in before everyone else?(Hind) Really!? You are being serious right!? Alright, I can feel the power flowing!(Yumir) Yumirs cheeks loosened as she blushed. And with that vigor, she harvested the medicinal herbs at high speed. Im so anxious that she might cut her own hand Ah, just so you know, by shifting the time, I mean that well go in earlier. No staying up late.(Hind) I know! Its fine if I leave the student council early right!?(Yumir) Like hell it is! You, is your brain ok right now!?(Hind) As a result, we talked and decided that we would log in early if both of our situations were suitable for it. Once we finished harvesting, we planted the seeds by giving priority to those with heat resistance and finished our work after watering them. After that we planted succulent plants, then we began working on the sandy soil. We mixed some medicinal herbs in there and they strengthened the effect on the soil, they have a lot of uses. Among the plants, there was a type that Yumir consulted me about planting them and admired. Oh, they have bloomed beautifullythe Adeniums.(Hind) Umu, you are right. Though I dont like how they share the same name as that queen.(Yumir) The Adenium, also called the Desert Rose, was a beautiful crimson flower. Yumir was planning to use these in the contest but Looking at the expression of the person in question, I could easily see what she was going to say next. But, if its just like this, its boring!(Yumir) I thought you would say that. So, what do you plan to do?(Hind) Ill leave it to you! Make some sort of plan!(Yumir) You are going to leave it to others? Yup, even if you tell me to make it not boring Regarding plants, if you told me what drew your attention to them would be: the colour, the shape, how big they are and the fragrance, etc. Should we try to do some selective breeding?(Hind) Oh? For example?(Yumir) Even if we talk about red flowers, there are a lot of pink ones out there, so lets aim for something like one thats more bright red. Or we could do something like they do with roses and make an azure Adenium. I think Ive seen a Blue Adenium somewhere.(Hind) Ooh! I see!(Yumir) I mean, its a game, the degree of difficulty should be easier than it would be in real life, so it should work? What type would you want, you have until tomorrow to think about it properly. If we hurried up, they would be done in time for the date of the contest.(Hind) Got it!(Yumir) After that, while being cautious of the thorns of the cactuses, we finished harvesting and planted seeds for the second time. With this, tonights activities in the agricultural area are finished. We were able to smoothly finish the work we had planned. It didnt take that much time either. With a large amount of plants in our inventory, we returned to our guild home. Chapter 111 - Compounding basics and the little girl’s devoted heart. Hi there, I probably wont be able to translate much if at all during the next couple days so next chapter wont be up for a few days. Anyway, enjoy. We left the items we harvested inside the storage and an announcement that we had visitors in the guild home appeared. Yumir didnt seem to have noticed so I checked my friend list, it seems like it was Philia-chan. Albert seems to be logged out, could it be that she had come alone? Our guild home is set so that friends are free to enter, so she was already inside. I sent her a short email telling her that we were working and that she could go ahead and wait in the lounge. When me and Yumir kept sorting the items, Philia-chan showed her face through the entrance. Could it be that she couldnt wait? Good evening, Philia-chan.(Hind) Nuoh, Philia! When did you get there!?(Yumir) Good evening.(Philia) After giving a bow, she calmly entered the storage. Then she just stayed silent as we placed the items from our inventories into the boxes Are those, medicinal herbs?(Philia) Umu. They are the first batch from our field! Oh right, Hind. Can we share some with Philia?(Yumir) Of course. If you use them as is, they would only have the effect of a beginner potion, but its not like it hurts having them.(Hind) Its not like medicinal herbs can only be used as ingredients, its also possible to use them as low grade restorative items. Yumir took a bunch of medicinal herbs from the box and placed them on Philia-chans hand. Thank you. However, I havent done any compounding.(Philia) Well teach you that! Hind will, that is!(Yumir) Hey.(Hind) Isnt that fine? We dont have anything else to do today right?(Yumir) I mean, its true that since Selene-san is not here, we wont make progress on our blacksmithing. Riizu is not here so we cant make progress in making healing items and Since Tobi is not here either, we dont have enough people to do anything. Well, if Philia-chan is not against it, Ill teac-(Hind) Please do.(Philia) She didnt even let him finish talking!? You sure are eager, Philia!(Yumir) After that, we made Philia-chan wait until we had sorted out the items. We planted several Adeniums in pots and placed them down in the hallways and the lounge. Philia-chan looked at the plants and murmured So beautiful, it seems like she has taken a liking to them. The places we placed flowers on, looked a bit more lively Since this was supposed to be a residence for nobles, the rooms had splendid ornaments and the flowers matched them well. Then, we arrived at our long awaited compounding room. Mortar, pestle, beaker, bottle for when we finish the product and the medicinal herbs we were going to use. I finished preparing these things. Well, while we are at it, Yumir can also give it a try.(Hind) Ill give it a try!(Yumir) Philia-chan too, are you ready?(Hind) When she heard my question, Philia-chan, who was holding the pestle, started nodding. Fundamentally, to refine a HP potion, you need: medicinal herbs, nourishing plants and some other things. In reality, these nourishing plants have many uses in TB. These yellow ones are(Philia) Yeah. These nourishing plants that look like leaves of a yellow Indian Lotus. They look like the leaves of an Indian Lotus, but instead of growing in water, they grow on the ground.(Hind) They are plants that dont exist in real life?(Philia) Obviously. They sprout all year round and anywhere after all.(Hind) Unlike the medicinal herbs, they can endure the heat of Waaha and we harvested them without any issue, they are an all purpose ingredient that can be used in compounding without much trouble. Apart from HP potions, they are a must when it comes to MP potions and status ailment ones. So, well start with a normal potion. You just mash the medicinal herbs and nourishing plants together and add water on top.(Hind) *grinding grinding*..Uoh, it smells like grass!(Yumir) (Philia) Right after they grinded the medicinal herbs, their smell started to permeate the room. However, after they grinded the nourishing plants, something weird happened. Ohthe smell disappeared?(Yumir) It not only disappearedtheres a sweet smell?(Philia) Thats right. Furthermore, if they are sepa-(Hind) So bitter! Its not sweet!(Yumir) Disregarding my explanation, Yumir took a bite of the nourishing plants and had a wry expression on her face. Silently, Philia-chan saw that and she looked a bit exasperated. Hear me out until the end. Nourishing plants are bitter by themselves but they turn sweet if you mix them with medicinal herbs. If you mix detoxification ones they increase in bitterness, you should know about that right, Yumir?(Hind) Umu(Yumir) As a result, if you drink a HP potion, they taste good. Though I have already said before that theres no need to directly drink them. So, after you grind them sufficiently, its fine if you just add water directly.(Hind) Theres no need to filter them?(Yumir) In that regard, its a game. Its simplified.(Hind) I see. In that case, here we go.(Yumir) Once you add water, in an unusual way, the paste made from herbs disappears and only a blue liquid remains. All that was left to do was to use a funnel to pour the liquid into the bottle. There, congratulations on finishing one. As you already know, HP potions are blue, MP potions are green, make sure to not mistake one for the other.(Hind) Oohits easier than I thought?(Yumir) Yes. But, it makes me a bit happy that I made one myself. It feels special.(Philia) Yup, I get what she means. The potions sold in stores are the mass produced types, so you can see that the ones you make yourself are different. The two of them observed the liquid inside the bottles. Well, these are normal potions after all. They start getting annoying from intermediate onwards, there are a lot of additional ingredients after all With traditional Chinese medicine types, theres information that says you have to add things like: honey, garlic and even soft shelled turtles blood and the like. Once it gets to intermediate and higher, the effects are all over the place and it depends on the crafter.(Hind) A while ago, we bought some intermediate potions from the trading BBS and their healing effects were only a bit higher than normal potions.(Philia) Thats because you bought failures then. You have to choose if you want to buy them from NPCs since those have a fixed effect, or buy them from a crafter you deem trustworthy. Though, the best option would be to craft them yourself since thats the safest.(Hind) Philia-chan eagerly listened to my explanation. Once I taught them the basic recipes, Philia-chan bowed down and thanked us. Since they have no intention to cultivate themselves, they plan to buy the ingredients from the trading BBS next time. Even then, its cheaper than buying the finished products directly. Hindthe truth is, I have something I want to ask you.(Philia) ?(Hind and Yumir) Once we reached a stopping point, Philia-chan said that. Yumir and I tilted our heads wondering what it was about. Does it have anything to do with why you are not with your dad today?(Hind) When I asked her that, Philia-chan nodded once and started to explain in detail. We readied ourselves wondering what sort of serious talk she wanted to ha- Philia-chan you sure are admirable(Hind) Maybe I should do something to show my appreciation to my dad too(Yumir) Why are you bothpatting me?(Philia) It was something really light. Me and Yumir proceeded to pat Philia-chans head. You could say that it was an issue because who we were dealing with was Albert. You could also say that it was a problem this little girl would likely have because she was dealing with him. So you heard from your classmates that they had rubbed their parents shoulders-(Hind) Or that they put a wet compress on them and they were happy, and then you got jealous. I think it cant be helped when you have a dad thats so macho and usually goes to the gym.(Yumir) Yupdad, he has never said that hes hurting somewhere(Philia) Even if she wanted to show her appreciation to her dad, who was always going to work, there was nothing to heal with that iron body of his. However, wouldnt just having this adorable and admirable daughter be enough to heal that old man? So, you think that theres a chance inside the game if you make a wet compress as a healing item?(Hind) Something like that? What do you think?(Philia) After hearing her request, I went to the storage and returned to the compounding room with ingredients. What I brought with me was: healing type medicine herbs, cloth, lead tetroxide, oil from pigs fat and cayenne. For the time being, lets experiment. In other words, testing.(Hind) Until a certain point, the process was the same as when making healing items. Stopping when the medicinal herbs and the nourishing plants turned into a paste, we then made an extract from the lead tetroxide, pig fat and cayenne. Another thing we needed was to mix lead tetroxide with the oil extracted from pig fat and mix them. Then we took both the extract and the mixture and pasted each one on one side of the cloth. With this, the cloth had one warm side and another cool side. Then, we register the productohh!(Hind) How did it go!? What did it become!?(Yumir) (Philia) Both of them peeked at my menu window from each side. Its so crampedI moved the window so they could see it and both of their eyes started sparkling. Ooh!! It actually registered as a healing item! Its a success!(Yumir) Hind, are we going to try it right now?(Philia) While showing her doubt and releasing an aura that wouldnt let you say no to her, Philia-chan approached me with a wet compress. Though, these Shinto Priests robes dont really have much exposed skin. In that case, guess I should pull up my sleeves at lea- Take it off.(Philia) Then, she let out those coldhearted words. I stood there dumbfounded and the upper half of my body got exposed in the blink of an eye. Even the underclothes you started out with got removed. These actually came offnow that I think about it, there are players out there that run around half naked so I guess it makes sense. I tried to run away from reality while having those thoughts. Hind, you have more muscle than I thought(Philia) T-Thats true! That seems to be the case, yup! Good job Philia!(Yumir) Wait a mom-(Hind) While I was confused she touched me all over and plasted the wet compresses on my shoulders and waist in succession. Yumir was unable to look at me directly but she took some side glanceswait, dont stand there looking and stop her! I was so embarrassed that I wanted to just immediately log out. However, the girl that had taken a liking to us was moving her hands carefully and I could feel how earnestly she was sticking those compresses. Yeah, I can feel myself being healedas if the fatigue from doing household chores is disappearing Forgetting how embarrassed I was from being half naked, I unconsciously started to relax. At times, the face of Rise, who would be furious if she were to see this current situation, flickered in my mind. When I thought about that, it felt as if I was being pierced by nails. I couldnt resistforgive me. Muh, it doesnt seem to heal that much.(Yumir) Its a shame(Philia) Hearing them, I took a look at the amount of healing that was displayed, its true that the amount wasnt even ten percent of my full HP. Isnt that low for a healing item? When that thought was crossing my mind, for some reason, it showed that it healed again. Then a second time, and it continued to a third time at a fixed interval Hmm!? Dont tell me, this is- Isnt this a continuous healing item?(Hind) When I said that, both of them looked at me with surprised faces. Chapter 112 - Rubrum Stone and trial and error Nothing to say this time, enjoy the chapter. With this, if we dont have a converter, we might not even be able to make steel(Selene) Is what Selene-san said after she made a few prototype products using the Rubrum Stones as fuel. In the walls around us, several failed products were lined up. The ones in the workshop were: her, me and Tobi. Tobi was raising his hand to get my attention and I approached him. He was being quite annoying. Hind-dono, Hind-dono! Ive been hearing the word steel being thrown around a lot, but what sort of metal is it exactly?(Tobi) I have to start from there!? Even though all the weapons weve been using until now were made from steel!? Fine, I got it. Ill explain properly so dont go around making that face. Steels is a type of iron that(Hind) While explaining, I glanced at Selene-san and sent her a wry smile as if to say Just continue working. Though she would be more knowledgeable about thisoh well, if I get something wrong, lets get her to correct me. The important thing is the amount of carbon that you add on the iron. If we get into the small details of ir-(Hind) I wouldnt understand it even if I listened to that!(Tobi) I guessed as much! Thats why Ill explain it in simple terms. Generally, the metal we call steel is iron with approximately 0.02%~2% of carbon in it.(Hind) To be more precise, its 0.0218%~2.14%. The ones used for weapons, usually have higher concentrations in them.(Selene) So precise! S-So, with that amount, whats amazing about it?(Tobi) Its not a matter of if its amazing or not. Depending on the amount, the hardness and the plasticity of the metal will have differences. Tobi looked puzzled. Plasticity? Whats that?(Tobi) In simple terms, its how flexible the metal is. If Carbon is high, the metal will harden and it will lose its flexibility, if its low, itll become really soft. If its only hard and not flexible, itll easily snap like that.(Hind) When I said that, I pointed at a big axe resting on the wall. It was one of the failed products. Its durability was tensomething that wouldnt last throughout a fight. It doesnt matter how high the attack power of the weapon was. Ah, so that means that the weapons had low durability until now is because(Tobi) Yup, Tobi-kun, youve started to understand. The temperature in the furnace was too high, so a big amount of carbon got into it.(Selene) Because of only that reason, they wont be flexible and theyll turn into failed products once you start working on them(Tobi) Selene-san exchanged words with us while feeling like the one she was working on right now was no good either. Since this is a game, it should be pretty lax with its judgment, that time with the type where we added sand, it was as simple as adding it. It seems like the game is judging it to be Pig Iron, and thats the reason its become like that. Its not really all that bad. Since the fuel is from a magic stone, there are no other impurities apart from charcoal.(Selene) Its just that we need to control the firepower. If we use one, itll have less firepower than using charcoal, if we use two or more, itll be higher than using coal. Its pretty extreme.(Hind) If we use more than two, therell be a chain reaction and the firepower will increase. Since they are magic stones, its hard to calculate the firepower.(Selene) This is quite difficult(Tobi) Its just that, for the axe with a Rubrum Stone attached to it, we have decided to use two of them to craft it. Albert did say that he was giving it to us, but we decided to use two for it. Regarding the size of a weapon with an elemental stone, as long as the elements dont conflict with each other, its possible to equip two of them. Obviously, its possible to put two of the same element into it. Though normally, the effect of the second one is reduced by half. That being the case, theres a converter that manipulates the air and controls the amount of carbon. If I remember correctly, I think there was one if you brought the facility level up to eight(Hind) Eh, by the way, what century is this technique from? From what Ive heard, it doesnt sound like something from the middle ages(Tobi) If I remember correctly, it should be from the nineteenth century? Its pretty recent.(Hind) I think thats excessively advanced for a world based in the middle ages(Tobi) Leaving that aside, lets take getting to level eight as a necessary expense. Given the circumstances, its fine to raise it up to that level.(Hind) Right now, the facilities are level six, at level seven, the materials of the furnace should become more durablein other words, we also have to take into consideration how the furnace has to endure these high temperatures. The furnace also has durability after allweve had to repair it a lot of times and I thought that it was quite a pain. The cost for that was 5.000.000 G, wellits reasonable. Then, the capital needed for the important level eight is Geh.(Hind) Whats wrong, Hind-kun.(Selene) 50.000.000 G(Hind) Oh god, did I hear it wrong? Did you just sa-(Tobi) So its going to cost 55.000.000 G in total(Hind) The atmosphere in the workshop froze over. Thinking about it, starting from level eight, it would be a facility for guilds that focus on crafting?(Selene) If you had such a facility, you would be able to craft a good weapon just by having a template. Its designed to craft in big quantities.(Hind) Am I the only one that thinks if you are not hitting stuff with a hammer it doesnt look very blacksmith-ish?(Tobi) I(I) also thought that.(Hind and Selene) If we talk about middle ages blacksmithing, it has to be forging. The strong point of crafting something from just a mold is that the quality is the same all the time, but if we talk about the individuality of each product The big sword Albert-san wants is definitely not that kind of weapon.(Selene) You are right. In that case, should we use one Rubrum Stone and supplement it with charcoal?(Hind) Sounds good. Doing it that way, well also save on fuel. Impurities will also decrease.(Selene) Instead of doing that, how about we just smash a Rubrum Stone in pieces? If we do it precisely, we can just adjust it however we want! Just kidding!(Tobi) When we heard those words from Tobi, which he tried to dress up as a joke, I exchanged looks with Selene as our mouths were wide open. Whats wrong, you two? Did I say something weird-(Tobi) Selene-san. For both of us to not be able to reach such a simple conclusion, it means we are really stupid right?(Hind) Uuh, you are right. I might have thought too hard about it. Why didnt I realize?(Selene) For some reason, we were too into the idea that this was an Item that you cant adjust. I see, even if we smashed them, it would be fine as long as they still retained the ability to produce heat I hit Tobi in the back and took up the hammer on top of the table along with a Rubrum Stone we werent using. I covered it in cloth so that the fragments wouldnt fly around and looked at Selene-san for a final confirmation. It might lose its properties as an elemental stone regardless if we succeed or not. You dont mind, right?(Hind) Yup, give it a try. If it doesnt work, lets think of another way.(Selene) Eh? Eh? You two, arent you guys deciding too soon? Are you really fine with making use of such a thoughtless remark I made!?(Tobi) Here I go!(Hind) Wai-(Tobi) With a vigorous dull sound, I felt in my hand that something had been smashed. Then I kept hitting it over and over until they were of a suitable size. It seems like elemental stones inserted in weapons will definitely not break, but as expected, its different when they are still materials. I slowly removed the cloth and took a small piece of Rubrum Stone. How is it, Hind-kun?(Selene) Try grabbing one.(Hind) Ah, me too, me too!(Tobi) I placed a small piece of the stone slowly so as to not drop them on top of Selene-san and Tobis hand. Tobi made a face as if he had found a bug on the other side of the stone but Selene-san was smiling. Whats with this number of windows?(Tobi) Its quite inconvenient when it treats every small piece as an individual piece right? However, if these windows are popping up, it means that they still have the ability to produce heat.(Hind) When we are going to use these, do we have to press yes on all of them!?(Tobi) No, I said that they produce a chain reaction before, right? If theres another stone close by when they are being used, the others will activate on their own. There wont be any problems as long as we activate one and throw the rest in.(Hind) In that case, lets try a small one as an experiment, if it looks fine, lets pick up the stone from the furnace and break it into pieces. This looks like itll work out! Thank you, Tobi-kun!(Selene) Thanks, Tobi. Having you here helped us.(Hind) No problem. Im just glad to have been able to help for a chang-(Tobi) After that, it took us a while to get the hang of it After about two hours, we finally managed to set the furnace in the condition we wanted. All that was left was to think how we would forge it properly. Chapter 113 - Second time blacksmithing together and both of them swinging their weapons. Heat enveloped the workshop and Selene-san was in front me, fully concentrated in her work. The sound of the hammer reverberated throughout our surroundings. Looking carefully at the iron and then hitting in the suitable spots. Obviously, this was very important. However, the most important thing was what the girl in front of me wished for. I couldnt miss the places she needed help with. The only one interacting with the iron was her, I was only giving her a hand. The gaze within the glasses moved. The hammer was swung down on that spot and sparks scattered. No words were exchanged between us, she only wholeheartedly swung down the hammer. -ah, *cough*, *cough*!(Tobi) For some reason, Tobi started coughing at us because he was looking over here while holding his breath. However, I cant get distracted by that. I removed the things in my field of view from my mind and concentrated on the piece of iron that was starting to take shape. We repeated those steps and then We made it!(Selene) Fuh(Hind) Hearing Selene-sans words, I took a big breath. Tension left my body and a sense of accomplishment and exhaustion enveloped my body at the same time. I could tell from one look at her expression that the results were good. Built from that lump of iron, a greatsword with a massive presence stood in front of us. Fueh(Tobi) No, no, Tobi. That just happened because you strained yourself too much as if you were working with us.(Hind) I just got too engrossed in the atmosphere(Tobi) Strength left Tobis body and he lifelessly fell on top of the chair. Selene-san placed the tools down and held out her hand towards me and I grasped it. Both of our expressions were bright and we exchanged smiles. Good work, Hind-kun! Tobi-kun too, thanks for helping us!(Selene) You did great too, Selene-san.(Hind) Good work! Yup, I get the feeling I just saw something greatit was actually fun!(Tobi) Selene-san had already started making the final touches on the greatsword. All that was left was the small details, its the part of the process she said she likes the most. Me and Tobi started to tidy up the tools we had used. However, I feel like my body stiffens when I tense upeven though its a game. I moved around while carrying what I could on my shoulders and suddenly, the axe we had finished entered my field of view. I thought for a second to apply one of the wet compresses Ive made with Philia-chan to it. Though I wont do it because it would be a waste. After finishing up, I assisted Selene-san with the small details alongside Tobi. The reason was, this greatsword weighed far more than a normal one and even the simple act of turning it over was a pain. Tobi and I supported the sword and just when our hands started to feel numb, the work was done. Since it took us a while to adjust the heat, we finished up later than usual. Are you both fine on time?(Selene) Im fine. I stay up late all the time!(Tobi) Dont act all proud! Get some proper sleep! GeezIn my case Ris-Riizu might get a bit mad with me. I wonder if she went to sleep already?(Hind) Like this, we had finished making the weapons that Albert had requested. All that was left was to deliver the weapons to them. Im curious about what their reactions will be. The next day, Albert and Philia-chan came to the guild home to receive the weapons. Since they were going to leave Sala after receiving them, all of us had gathered here to welcome them. The place was the workshop, on top of the table, two big thick weapons released a dull glow. They were made primarily by Hind and me. Tobi-kun assisted us with the job. Please accept them.(Selene) I appreciate it! I was looking forward to this day.(Albert) Thanks(Philia) First off was Philia-chan, who received the great axe with two elemental stones inserted in it from Selene-san and brandished it. She changed the angle and grasped it in different ways to get a feel of it and then Can I try it out?(Philia) I thought you would say that. We have a training room underground so do it there. Albert-san too, come with us.(Hind) Hearing the words I expected from her, I prompted them to come with me. If its there, no matter how wild they go, it wont be a problem. With the help of Tobi, I picked up the greatsword and tried to hand it to Albert buthe raised his hand and stopped us. Whats wrong? Im sorry, could you hold onto the sword until we go underground? I cant stop my hands from shaking.(Albert) Eh?(Hind) Aniki?(Tobi) Now that I look at it, the hand that he raised to stop us was shaking. He placed his left hand on top of it to bring it down and I could see his mouth loosening, it was an expression we havent seen coming from him. It was a reaction as if he was a child in front of a present he had always wanted Me and Tobi nodded to each other, put on gloves and put strength into our arms to carry the greatsword. We are going in first!(Yumir) Yeah, please lead the way! There we go! NuohI thought about this yesterday but with the strength of a Shinto Priest and a Light Warrior its heavy, too heavy(Hind) C-Cant be helped. This is for anikihe looks quite pleased, so we can only just bear with it(Tobi) We cant have the girls carry it after allkuh(Hind) With Tobi trailing behind me, we whispered so the others couldnt hear us. Within Migratory Bird, the ones with the highest strength are: Yumir in first place and Selene-san in second place butif we made those two carry it without doing anything ourselves, we would feel guilty Furthermore, even with the strength correction, real life strength is needed too, so either of us would have trouble carrying it in the end. That being the case, In that case well do it, it felt like it inevitably fell on that kind of thought. For the record, Tobi held the grip and I the edge, so I was feeling really nervous. Ah, they are already starting!(Tobi) Uwah, its burning, its burning. Elemental weapons sure are flashy.(Hind) Once we entered the training area, flames rose up. A little girl was swinging a great axe of approximately her own stature towards the scarecrow. She then changed the stance she was holding the axe with and stood still gathering strength. That stance is the one she showed us in the pyramid! Immediately following that, Philia-chan started spinning wildly and activated Tornado Swing. She transformed into a blazing tornado and fried up the scarecrow as she cut it into pieces. The displayed damage along with the elemental damage was something else. The scarecrow is set to have zero defense, but even while taking that into account, theres a big difference compared to the previous weapon. Philia-chan stopped in place after swinging the axe, headed towards us while carrying it on her back and gave us a thumbs up while not saying a word. She was expressionless, however, those movements felt like she was saying Im really satisfied! to us. Alright, Ill go next.(Albert) Once he said that, Albert finally took the greatsword from our hands and carried it on his shoulder with one arm. He advanced towards the scarecrow as if he was switching places with Philia-chan and then placed his leg forward while placing his free hand on the handle of the sword. Clomp! After making a loud sound that would make you think he had made a hole on the floor with that step, he took a swing with the greatsword with speed that left our eyes wide open. That probably did like ten thousand damage, is what I was thinking but I unconsciously asked this question. D-Did you guys see that?(Hind) All of them started shaking their heads left and right in unison. Albert looked at his own palm while looking surprised and then closed his hand tightly. Then he smiled like a predator and released a gust of wind by grasping the sword again. The display of damage of five digits kept dancing in the air and the scarecrow was mowed down left and right as if it was going to get stuck in the ground. The only thing we could hear was the violent *dan* *dan* sound of his footsteps and the wind. Then, there was also this ominous laughter. Fuh, hahahaha! It was this, this! I was waiting for this! Wished for it! Hahahahahaha! More, more! Faster! Even faster!(Albert) Watching Albert, who kept cutting the scarecrow in pieces while laughing as if he had gone insane, Yumir started to back down unconsciously. So scary! P-Philia, is he ok?(Yumir) Dadlooks like hes having fun(Philia) Eh, is that really what hes feeling at the moment!?(Riizu) It was weird to the point that even Riizu interjected with that comment. Philia-chan, are you not going to stop him?(Hind) Impossible. Once he gets like that, you can only leave him alone until he calms down.(Philia) It looks like hes satisfied with it, but what is this(Hind) Aniki, you are so cool! Uhyoooooooh!(Tobi) Me, Yumir and Riizu looked at Tobi, who could make such a comment when seeing someone go crazy like that, with cold eyes. Just how much blind faith do you have in him Chapter 114 - Parting with the parent and daughter and towards the contest. We left Albert in the training room and waited for him in the lounge. He returned about ten minutes later with steam coming off his body. Im sorrythat was unbecoming of someone my age.(Albert) I gave him a cup of cool water and he thanked me while drinking it all in one go. In an instant, the steam disappeared and the sweat was gone too. This is one part where it is like a game and things are simplified. Albert had finally calmed down. He took a deep breath and looked at Selene-san and me. I have no complaintsno, thats a poor choice of words. it was the best I could have asked for. Im very thankful!(Albert) We have confirmed that we have delivered the Acutus Greatsword and the Acutus Flame Axe.(Selene) While saying that, Selene-san bowed her head with relief showing on her face. I told them a bit about the performance of the weapons. Both are first rate + 5, we also used the Durus ore you brought as materials.(Hind) Heh(Philia) Philia-chan voiced her admiration. The quality (for someone like Selene-san) was so-so, but it was because the alloy was hard to handle. Compared to the equipment that was mainstream in the game currently, the degree of difficulty was vastly different. In terms of performance its about the same as what other top class blacksmiths make. As expected, there has to be some numerical values that are not shownIm actually quite curious.(Albert) Taking out the sword from his back, Albert whispered that as he took it in his hand and looked at it. Its still unknown whats the difference between our weapon and what others craft, however, Im glad that he is satisfied with it. It feels as if we have been rewarded for our troubles. Then, we chatted for a while while having a snack and some tea. Finally, the Albert and daughter duo left Sala. Hindnext time, Ill send you an email(Philia) Sure thing, Ill be waiting.(Hind) Hind-san(Riizu) W-Whats wrong Riizu? An email should be fine, right?(Hind) ?(Philia) Though I have no idea what the contents of the email from Philia-chan will be The members that still hadnt exchanged friend codes with them did so, and we tagged along with them until we reached the entrance of Sala. Even though it couldnt be compared to the Grado Turks, the parent and child duo came out of the stable carrying a rather big horse. It seems like they will be leaving the camel they bought here. Looks like they will be riding a horse together like they mentioned before, however, will it be able to support Alberts weight in a long distance trip? Not only with our weapon, weve been in your care throughout our stay.(Albert) Not at all, we have had a great experience too. Youve saved us in the pyramid exploration and it was fun going together.(Hind) Having such words between us, we said our goodbyes. Being inconvenient for players to travel around could be said to be one of the flaws of TB, though you could also say that it was their intent. Though, things would definitely change if they released some means of transportation in the air. Well then, let us meet again, people of Migratory Bird. Hind!(Albert) Yes? -Uwah!?(Hind) After I heard my name called at the end, it looked as if he had thrown something like a bag from the top of the horse. Catching it, I felt its weight and from within, the sound of metal jingling could be heard. When I raised my head, the horse had left behind a cloud of dust and was already at a distance where my voice wouldnt be able to reach them. Wondering what was going on, the others peeked at what I had in my hands. I opened it and took the contents in my hand. Looks like they are gold coinsand a large amount at that.(Hind) Ah, theres a letter inside. Lets seeits the additional reward I promised. I wont accept any returns. Ill be counting on you next timeor so it says. Nununu(Tobi) I see, I got it! Its because thered be an high possibility that Secchan and Hind would feel bad taking it!(Yumir) Thats probably the case. Quite the sharp deduction coming from Yumir-san. Considering how messy the writing is, he probably wrote it in a hurry while he was in the training room?(Riizu) Most likely, he really gave us 1.000.000 G as a bonus(Hind) This is twice as much as what we agreed at the start. Its certainly true that if he had given us this much directly, we wouldnt have taken it(Selene) Even if it was an order for fully arranged equipment, the initial price we had agreed on of 1.000.000 G was already quite high. On top of that, Albert had given us another 1.000.000 G. In total, we had received 2.000.000 G, it goes without saying that this was quite the amount. Honestly speaking, we had received way too much. Aniki is so cool! Uhyoooooh!!(Tobi) Is that the only thing you can say? However, this time I have to agree with you. Albert is so cool(Hind) Everyone nodded in agreement. It was probably because the fees for his mercenary work was high, though from what was posted in the BBS it gave the image that he was stingy After finishing sending them off, we returned to the guild home and returned to each ones work. The deadline for the item contest is close. First off are Yumirs Adeniums, regarding these, itll be close. We had quite a few Adeniums that ranged from red to violet, however, its hard to say if well make it in time. Regarding the selective breeding method, its by crossbreeding using the magical soil found in the many forests of the Rust Kingdom. We then use that soil to plant two different types of plants in a single pot. Doing so, the magical soil will choose characteristics from both plants during the hereditary processor something like that. Its a fantastically convenient soil as youd expect from a game. The pot Im looking at right now, is the one where we planted the Adenium with another flower called Lobelia. What generation is this one again?(Hind) Fourthmaybe? The color is questionable, but itll be fine by the time of the contest. Probably!(Yumir) You sure are optimistic. Though its true that we can pick from many, wonder which ones will be done(Hind) Apart from the Lobelia ones, we have other flowers in the middle of crossbreeding after all. The speed at which they change color differs from one to another. Within those, there are also cases where the Adeniums disregard color and turn into poisonous plants or medicinal herbs. Why they react like that is still unknown and it would be hard to find those naturally in the wilderness. Yumir says that its fun to think about how each one will turn out, however, it feels as if we are drawing the lottery here. Hind, Hind! Look!(Yumir) Hmmm?(Hind) Inside the pot that Yumir presented to me, there was a red flower the color of a normal Adenium. What is she trying to show me with this? Just when I was thinking that, I observed it and noticed that a bug akin to a honey bee was lured by the flowers nectar and stopped inside it. In order to not be stung by it, I took some distance from it and observed it. To my surprise, the petal the bee was on slowly closed. The bee noticed the strange occurrence and it started to struggle, but it looked like its leg was stuck to something and it couldnt get away. The petal closed like that and the bee was unable to escape for eternity You, what did you plant this Adenium with?(Hind) An insectivore plant! Though I have no idea what to use it for!(Yumir) (Hind) It can only be used as an insecticide inside our home, even I could not think of any other use for it. Not like we could show this at the contest and theres not much time left. When I told her that, Yumir looked upset and she said this. But this Adenium, doesnt it look just like the queen? Im going to eat you!, It gives that sort of feeling. Honestly, Im quite satisfied with the result? Lets show this one in the contest!(Yumir) Shell get madif she realizes what you mean by it, shell definitely get madsomething like this is a no go!(Hind) Eh(Yumir) Im going to eat you!. Yumir, who had raised both of her hands when saying that part, returned to her original position looking quite displeased. After that, we took out the ones that didnt turn out well. Then, we planted the ones that showed promise in pairs again. I noted down the results of each combination with the memo function inside the game and all that was left was the simple work of watering the plants. Well then, Yumir. Im taking the medicinal herbs and the poisonous ones. Ill be leaving the rest to you.(Hind) Umu, leave it to me! There, be bathed in plenty of water, you guys!(Yumir) With that, I left Yumir, who had started to water the plants and headed towards the compounding room where Riizu was currently working. Chapter 115 - Towards the contest, part 2. In the compounding room, sunlight was blocked due to a curtain which made the room quite dim. Riizu looked like a witch straight out of a book when she was stirring the boiling liquids inside a pot W-Wait a moment! Eh? Riizu, you, didnt you say you were going to enter healing medicine in the contest!?(Hind) Riizu, who heard my voice, stopped and looked at me. She was completely protected by wearing gloves and a mask, if you got closer to the pot, your eyes and nose would start to hurt. This is definitely not healing medicine! What are you saying, Hind-san? This is healing medicine (poison), you know? Ufufu(Riizu) Even though you clearly said healing medicine, I get the feeling I heard something quite disturbing from your inner voice?(Hind) Are my ears defective? Besides, have you turned crazy because we were not making any progress with healing items? For the time being, I opened the curtains to air out the room and just as I had expected, the liquid was of a muddy violet color and you couldnt see the bottom of the pot. No matter how you look at it, isnt this poison? Wouldnt it be fine for you to consider just focusing on poison?(Hind) Are you saying that even though Philia-chan can make them, I cant make healing medicine!?(Riizu) Like me being unable to go to the front as a vanguard, there are things people are just not suited for Poison also has its uses, is there even any need to become so pessimistic?(Hind) But Hind-san, you said last time that youd be happier with healing medicine(Riizu) Ah(Hind) Now that I think about it, I did say that. In that regard, I was in the wrong because of my poor choice of words. My own role within the party is that of the healer, so thinking from that point of view, I had decided to focus on healing items. I definitely didnt mean that poison didnt have any use. But even when I told Riizu that, her expression didnt brighten up. What should I do? Poison is poison, Selene-san could use it to make poisoned bolts or the like. Obviously, you could use it normally and just throw it at the enemies, theres quite a lot of uses for it? Its not like Im saying that healing items are superior. Dont mind it.(Hind) (Riizu) Thats why, lets develop healing medicine together. Well progress together and when our times dont match, if you just follow the recipe and mass produce them, there shouldnt be any problems.(Hind) !!Together?(Riizu) Yeah. That was the deal from the beginning, right? We should have time for it after the contest, we can start developing healing medicine for real after that. Sorry for leaving all the work to you until now.(Hind) You remembere-no, you are right. Theres no way that nii-san would break a promise after all, it seems like I was just being hastyI should be the one apologizing here.(Riizu) It was not something Riizu should lower her head for. For the time being, I had been focusing on the agricultural side and blacksmithing with Tobi assisting me, so it turned out that I had left compounding to Riizu alone. Leaving aside the product well display in this contest, we agreed that well take it easy and make healing medicine once the contest ends. Theres no need to force her to do it if her aptitude for it is low. Especially if it would get in the way of her enjoyment of the game. I thought Riizu would have understood that even if I didnt say anything, its my responsibility because I didnt voice it out. Im reflecting on that. In that case, Ill tackle the contest with something that is not healing medicine.(Riizu) Right. There are a lot of categories for status ailments after all. Poison, paralysis, burn, sleep etc.(Hind) Ill think of something. By the way, Hind-san. Regarding the Adeniums that you have brought here(Riizu) Ah, you mean the failed products that had their colors changed. There were quite a few that turned into medicinal herbs and poisonous herbs, I thought they would be useful to you so I brought them here.(Hind) Really? Thank you very much. These Adeniums, instead of the petals, the vivid green parts are poisonous? I see(Riizu) Having returned to normal, Riizu was now looking at the Adeniums I had brought and thinking about something. Im starting to get a bad feeling about this though For the time being, I placed the materials on top of the table and lined them up. After that, I started cleaning the tools while Riizu was working. After Im done here, Ill go somewhere else again. Riizu, can I take some status ailment medicine?(Hind) Ah, yes, its fine. There were a lot of failures while I was making healing medicine after allfufu(Riizu) O-OK. These ones over here, right? Thanks. Starting from tomorrow, Ill be helping you a bit with the poison you are going to display in the contest. Until then, youll be on your own.(Hind) Yes, Ill be waiting.(Riizu) I put the liquid with a suspicious color inside a bottle and put it inside my inventory. Next, I headed towards a workshop without a furnace, it was where Tobi was currently working. Have you decided on what you are going to make? If you havent, Ill make some nasty military provisions for you, you know?(Hind) You are bringing that up again!? I dont want them!(Tobi) After entering the room, I asked Tobi how his work was going. Since the main character in this contest, Selene-san, said that she could do the rest of the work by herself, we returned to our own work but Honestly speaking, there was not much time left, we had to decide what we wanted to do by today and start working. We had to choose something doable from the ninja tools that Tobi had in mind but I thought about making kunais that inflicted status ailments when thrown at enemies, however, it would be impossible to ask Selene-dono for help with them, right?(Tobi) That would be impossible. Shes the one we have the highest expectations of from our guild, I would like to give her the best conditions possible so she can concentrate. Its her after all, she probably wouldnt refuse if you asked her for help, so dont go and ask her, you hear me?(Hind) You are rightyup, in that case, given our current situationyup(Tobi) Looking at how troubled Tobi looked, I started to think a bit. I mean, we could just make improvements on the Bo-hiya we made before and go with that. However, Tobi seems to be focused on the idea of making throwable kunais and even if I gave him more time to think about other ideas, it doesnt seem like hell be able to do so. Kunais, huh If its only that, should I go to the towns blacksmith workshop and make them?(Hind) Really!?(Tobi) Yeah. I might not be as skilled as Selene-san but if you dont mind them being so-so, Ill make them for you.(Hind) As expected of Wacchi! I can depend on you!(Tobi) You sure are easygoing(Tobi) With that said, we started to discuss the measurements and the details. Throwing weapons are scarce products in the trading BBS, since its a category most people wouldnt participate in, I have some expectations about it. We could not limit it to just kunais and go for shurikens also? Like stick type shurikens, they look like it would be easy to add poison onto them.(Hind) Since those are pretty standard too, Ill think about it. As for the drugging effect, we could use Riizu-donos stuff and(Tobi) The problem would be how to retain the drugs applied to the weapons. We could make a gap in them and pour it there, or maybe reform the drug itself into an high viscosity state(Hind) I guess it wouldnt be enough to just apply them on top of them?(Tobi) If what we were using were high rank status ailment drugs, I think that would work. However, the effect of each one isnt that high, right? Especially since throwable weapons are single use, Youd want to use as fewer as possible to inflict an status ailment on an enemy.(Hind) Given the price of a single item being considerable, considering the effect they have, the times you would use them in a fight would decrease. Furthermore, throwable weapons, while short, also have a short CD, theres also the fact that you cant continuously throw the same items in quick succession. Other than that, in order to differentiate it from throwing the poison directly, its important for it to have the sharpness that makes it able to inflict wounds and be able to be thrown a longer distance compared to a bottle. Please think of that sort of practicality.(Hind) Understood! Nunu? From how you are saying that, do you mean that I have to decide the rest of the minute details by myself?(Tobi) Well, pretty much. I feel bad, but I have to procure materials for my sewing too so it would be impossible for me to do so. Ill make sure to make time for the blacksmithing soplease make the designs by tomorrow and then hand them over to me.(Hind) You are right. Im grateful that you are going to make time for it even though you are so busy. So, you are going with sewing in the end as expected?(Tobi) Yup. So, Ill be heading to town now therefore, Ill be leaving the rest to you.(Hind) Understood!(Tobi) After that, I left Tobi, who had taken out a parchment and started working on the design behind and I left the guild home and headed towards the workshop. I had the NPC Claris-san for the cloth that I would need for my sewing, so I had no choice but to head towards the town. Chapter 116 - Towards the contest, part 3 While going through a corridor in our guild home, I heard the sound of a door opening from behind me. Judging from the direction, I believe it should be the door to the blacksmith workshop. Ah, just as I thought, its Selene-san. What happened?(Hind) When I turned around, I saw the figure of Selene-san peeking from the door. While fixing the position of her glasses, for some reason, she started looking towards my surroundings. Hind-kun, are you alone right now?(Selene) Its just as you see, why?(Hind) D-Do you have a moment? Please, enter.(Selene) She beckoned me and I followed her inside the blacksmith workshop, which had become her area so to speak. Its not like I had decided on a time to meet with Claris-san, so it should be fine for me to stop by here and then go. However, I thought that she had already started working on the weapon and armor that shell display in the contest though Once I entered the blacksmith workshop, for some reason, she handed me a piece of clay shaped in the form of a rod. Whats this? Can you clutch that tightly? With both hands, like you are clutching your staff.(Selene) The staff? Eh, whats this?(Hind) I-Ill ask everyone else after this! Its something like a reference for when I make weapons in the futures-so, please!(Selene) Ah, she means that. Ive understood that she needs it for the designs, but is there any need to do it right now? But is it really fine? To not start working on the gear you are going to present in the contest.(Hind) Eh? Ehthis isr-right! Its that, Im taking a breather! Ive reached a nice break pointthats why, I was thinking about getting data from everyone and sorting the ideas inside my head!(Selene) If thats the case, I dont mind helping you now.(Hind) Last time, we made the weapons by giving her some information about me and Yumir. Does she plan to go further with that and make them? I feel like bowing down to Selene-sans desire to improve herself. Oddly enough, she was asking while talking really fast for some reason but if that was the case, there was no way I would have declined. That being the case, I grasped the clay the same way I would when I used the staff. The way I would hold it when I used one hand and also with both, these two patterns. Most likely, this will be used when making the small details in the grip portion of the staves. In that case, try this one next(Selene) What Selene-san handed me next were rods with various small weights attached to it. I know what these are used for. Weight dictates the mobility of the weapon, you could say these tools are used to decide the center of gravity of the weapon. When it came to Albert and his daughter, we already had the information from when we made that long sword for Yumir and we used that. Im no exception to that, when we made the staff that was used in the tournament, I should have already done this process though So, what does it look like? I dont think there should be much difference compared to before though. So, eh, Selene-san?(Hind) This one next.(Selene) Ah, yes.(Hind) Now this one.(Selene) Eh? Are we going to use all these?(Hind) Selene-san took my information with great attention to detail and wrote it down in a memo. Quite the thorough work, is what I thought during the process butisnt this a bit too much? From beginning to end, it seemed like she was trying to hide something and I felt like her attitude was a bit weird. But at times, it felt as if she was strongly telling me Please, dont ask. So as a result, I didnt ask anything and just followed her instructions. We worked like that until the end Thank you, Hind-kun. Sorry for taking your time.(Selene) No, its fine. Should I tell everyone to come here in turns? For you to get the data.(Hind) Ah, no, no! Ill do that myself so its fine! Its really fine if you dont do it, you hear me!? For sure!(Selene) I-Is that so? Understood(Hind) She didnt have to voice it out so strongly. As I thought, something is weird I left Selene-san, who was acting really weird, and this time, I really left the home and headed towards town. The town of Royal Capital Waaha was bustling today as well. The number of players kept increasing each day, right now, you could see blue names mixed in along with the white ones often. However, I get the impression that there are many people that dont really intend to set up a guild here and also players that dont belong to any region yet. Hey, its the Shinto Priest lad! I got some nice broad beans today! They are fresh! How about it!? Ah, Ill stop by on my way back. Ill be buying a lot, so Ill be counting on you then.(Hind) Theyll be gone if you dont hurry up! Gahaha! Oh? Isnt that Hind!? Wont you buy some fish? Auntie will throw in some extras! Ill buy them on my way back so reserve some for me, please. Auntie, you are looking youthful today too.(Hind) Oh, you! Ill throw in a couple more extras, Ill be waiting! I-It hurts! Im happy about the extras but my back hurts!(Hind) I had already gotten used to it butthe ones that talked to me were all shop NPCs related to food ingredients. My likability had just kept increasing because I kept coming to buy ingredients. On top of that, having won the tournament had made them give me a discount. Regarding players, unless Im not with Yumir, they rarely talk to me. On the contrary, when Im with her, players would just keep coming to the point that you would think they are really persistent. Since Im alone this time, I can just move around smoothly. This is the first time Ive come hereyeah, the atmosphere in this area is really different. Each shop is really big after all(Hind) Once you got through the part of the shopping district full of stalls, the high class stores with big signboards would suddenly increase. In this area, you could find shops for: work of arts, imported goods, handicrafts and the like. It was also quite quiet and the NPCs walking through this street looked more tidy and proper. In simple words, this was the high class shopping district for those that had money. Right, the map, the map, lets see(Hind) Following the mark I had placed on the map, soon enough, it came into view. The store appeared brand new from the outside, the outside was of a refined white color and the words Claris Company were written on a signboard. She really did itwhen I heard about it, I thought I had heard wrong. I opened the slightly heavy wooden door and went inside and the first thing that came into view were full-length mirrors with beautiful ornaments and hand mirrors. Apart from that, there were cosmetics and showy clothes. The products were carefully displayed and they reflected light. Having noticed I had entered the store, a female employee quickly approached me. Welcome. What would you like today? If theres a particular gift you wish for, Id glad- Within the salesman speech she gave, the word gift stood out to me. But after looking at the interior of the store, I understood the meaning of her words. After all, I was the only male inside the storeby the time I noticed, I was met with inquisitive gazes from the people inside wanting to know why I had even come to the store. Considering the products they deal with, I guess it cant be helped. Just when I had this sense of dj vu?, I remembered how bad it felt when I entered a store aimed at girls along with Rise. Ahis Claris-san here?(Hind) What? Forgive me if Im being rude, may I ask for your name? When I announced my name, the employee told me to wait inside the store and she went further inside in a hurry. Seems like shes going to act as an intermediary. Its a relief. For some time, the awkwardness of being stared at didnt really alleviate, but I passed time by looking at the mirrors. These are mirrors made by the silver mirror reaction I taught her. I always wondered how they would turn out, but I never had the time to check them out until now. While admiring the level of detail of the ornaments, I observed the mirrors on display one by one. From what Ive seen, the mirrors themselves are done really well, it seems like she has managed to set a good production line While being absorbed into the mirrors of various sizes, I heard the sound of someones footsteps getting closer to me while in a hurry. Wondering what it was, I turned around and something touched my cheek. Claris-san?(Hind) While putting one hand on my shoulder and her index finger on my cheek, Claris-san was there, as if she had successfully done a prank like that of an elementary schooler. Once I called her name, she let go and bowed down to me with a gentle smile. Its been a while, Hind-sama. Welcome to the Claris Company.(Claris) Chapter 117 In the inner side of the store, I sat down on the opposite side of Claris-san after she guided me to a place where it looked like negotiations were held. I was served herbal tea so I brought it to my mouth, but this store is really full of women huh The employee that acted as a waitress was also a woman. Obviously, she was a different person from the one that greeted me as I entered the store. When I asked Claris-san about it, she just replied that it naturally became like that on its own. Theres no discriminatory reason like the owner being a woman right?(Hind) There should be no worries in that regard since the one at the top of the country is the Queen. Its simply because of the products we are dealing with.(Claris) Hearing those words, I could sort of guess how things had progressed. It goes without saying that the capital to set up this store came from the Mirrors, but I believe mirrors are articles that can be used by anyone regardless of gender. Its just that, thinking about who would use them more frequently The number of males that would use a mirror far more often and for a longer period of time than women would be quite rare right? For that reason, since the Claris Company deals with cosmetics, on average, women will most likely spend far longer time using the mirrors. Its because of the difference in numbers in the genders of the people that wanted mirrors at the start? Particularly when it comes down to hand-mirrors.(Hind) Yes. Since the number of male clients that wanted hand-mirrors were very low.(Claris) So naturally, the number of female employees increased as the number of female clients increased. As a result, following that trend, the number of products to fit the clientele increased and thats how the shop turned out like thisam I right?(Hind) Seems like I cant keep anything hidden from Hind-samaits just as you guessed. Before I noticed, I had already stopped being a peddler.(Claris) Suddenly stopped she saysits true that the name displayed above her head had changed to Merchant Claris. I believe that its quite rare for a NPC to change its name so frequently like she does. If I remember correctly, she started with Second-hand Shop, then it turned to Peddler, and now its Merchant. When it comes to clothes, she started with garments that made her look like a village girl, which then turned into travelling attire, and now shes wearing refined attire that fits a desert setting. Now that I think about it, is this going to be fine with the promise you made to grandma? If I remember correctly, you were supposed to go around the different countries as a peddler to gain experience, right?(Hind) Once the store settles down and is more stable, I plan to leave everything to the employees and go back to being a peddler. However, you cant help but be worried right(Claris) Ah, she plans to just leave the store to others, huh? Should I say that shes not ambitious enough or that she has good resolution Even if I only handed her the rights to it, isnt this quite a waste? Ah! Of course, Im really grateful to Hind-sama! Im really sorry that I have been unable to directly express my gratitude.(Claris) No, no! I heard rumors that you were really busy, its also my fault that I didnt visit myself.(Hind) I heard about your accomplishments in the martial arts tournament! I wish I could have gone there to cheer for younow that I think about it, the magic that those imperial mages used, could only be used during that time? Even though it would be quite convenient to be able to move between cities with magic.(Claris) I see, thats what you think about it.(Hind) The topics of our conversation were all over the place, however, talking with Claris-san proved to be quite beneficial. Information that you couldnt get from other players just kept popping up. We then returned to our main topic and Claris asked for my opinion regarding what she should do with the store now. Shes asking a player like me about that huhlets see How about you try sending a letter to grandma?(Hind) To grandma?(Claris) To begin with, the reason that you became a peddler was to broaden your horizons and to gain training as a merchant right? I dont think theres a need to obsess over the title of peddler that much.(Hind) If I do that, wouldnt I be unable to clear the objective of broadening my horizons?(Claris) You need to move around in order to broaden your horizons, she claims that shell be unable to do that if she stays in the desert. However, in order to do that, isnt it quite a waste to just give this store to someone else after making it so big? In that case open another one in another country, a store that is.(Hind) Eh? Do you mean that(Claris) Lets make a branch in each country and move between them. I believe if you do that and move between them, youll be able to keep your promise with grandma.(Hind) If it doesnt go well, its at that point where she should go back to being a peddler. Doing her best to not get into any debtswhoops, this is turning into a sermon. Anyway, how about trying to make her business even bigger? Thats the opinion I tried to give to Claris-san. I think itll be fine if you explain the current situation to grandma and then reach a decision. Shes the senior most reliable and closest to you right? You can borrow some wisdom from her.(Hind) Ill think about it. I really appreciate Hind-sama giving me such a valuable opinion.(Claris) Her eyes when saying that she would think it over were Unless Im misunderstanding something, they were already brimming with hope and ambition. This is the Eishika Cloth I promised you.(Claris) What I received from Claris-san was a red cloth that released a wonderful luster. As a result of deciding to ask NPCs for the materials I couldnt gather myself, I decided to ask her to become the supplier of the materials I needed. Eishika Cloth is a cloth thats weaved in low quantities in a remote village called Eishika Village. Its a very expensive piece of cloth. The method to weave the cloth is unknown and even the whereabouts of the village are not known. Its an article thats shrouded in mystery. With this, I dont think the materials I use will overlap with those of the other playersor at least it shouldnt. This cloth is really beautifulit must have been hard to obtain it, right?(Hind) If I were to be honest, quite. After all, when it comes to merchants in this region, Im quite the newcomer after all. In order to make connections, I have spent pretty much all the remuneration I planned to give Hind-sama for the mirrors.(Claris) That wont be a problem. Looking at this cloth, I dont feel like it was a waste to spend a big amount of money.(Hind) As a result, the goods our company provides has increased too, so I believe its something to be happy about but(Claris) The clothes on display within the store seem to be because of the influence of these dealings. The reward I would have been given for the mirrors should have been pretty high, but lets consider these necessary expenses. Should I explain the expenses in detail?, is what Claris-san honestly offered to do, but I firmly refused because I was sure my stomach would hurt from listening to it. Even if its a game, it is not nice to look at large amounts of money being spent over and over. Even though lately, all weve been doing is spending a lot of money on agricultural land. Thats one of the reasons I think its better if I dont know. I also trust Claris-san. Thank you very much. If I make another item that I think will sell, Ill bring it over.(Hind) Really!? Thank you very much, Hind-sama! Should I write a letter to grandma and send it right now?(Claris) I think thatll be fine. Well then, Ill see you another time.(Hind) Yes! Come whenever you want. Ill be waiting!(Claris) I parted ways with Claris-san, who kept bowing down over and over, and I went back to the Guild Home while carrying the Eishika Cloth. Not forgetting to buy the broad beans or the fish, I also didnt overlook procuring our daily ingredients. After returning home, I placed my hand on the door leading to the workshop. From within, the noisy voices of people talking could be heard. Tobi sent me an email telling me that he would log out to research data, so he shouldnt be inside. Which means that these voices Ah, senpai, hi there.(Siesta) Hind-senpai, good evening!(Lycoris) Sorry for barging in.(Cineraria) Once I got inside, the first one to notice me was Siesta-chan, who was lying down on the bed. After that, Lycoris-chan and Cineraria-chan, who were sitting down on chairs while working on something on top of the table greeted me. They already told me that they were going to use the facilities in our Guild Home so there werent any issues butwhy is one of them sleeping on the bed? Good evening. Are you three working on what you are going to present in the contest?(Hind) Thats right! Since we are quite inexperienced, we are only making one article! It was Sai-chans idea!(Lycoris) Lyco, even if its the truth, dont go saying that we are inexperienced cheerfullyHind-senpai is giving us a wry smile.(Cineraria) Fuwahah, Im genuinely getting sleepy(Siesta) Looking at what they have on hand, are they making a Pillow? Theres only one table, so I placed the Eishika Cloth a bit apart from them and started taking out my tools. Oh, that cloth has quite a lovely red color! Hind-senpai, are you also going to display something in the sewing category?(Lycoris) Yup. Ah, Lycoris-chan, that part is getting frayed. Isnt your sewing a bit sloppy?(Hind) What? Aah! Its true!(Lycoris) Other than that, since it seems like you are using thick cloth, dont do the final stitching from the marking pin, itll end up better if you do it after you finish the embroidery. Didnt they teach you that at school? Cineraria-chan.(Hind) I think we might have done thatit would be easier if we had a sewing machine, but that wont be possible, right? Are there any other weird parts?(Cineraria) Eh? Hmm, lets see(Hind) As expected of senpai, such a mother.(Siesta) Who are you calling mother!?(Hind) As a result, I pointed out a lot of things and it ended up mostly being a group work with us putting in a lot of cotton and finishing the sewing. This is cotton that the three of them planted in a plot of land we lent them. In other words, its a hundred percent natural cotton. It was carefully sewed so it was fine in that regard, and it was far fluffier than the prototype that Siesta-chan was using until a while ago. By the way, Siesta-chan, what are you doing by not helping with the work?(Hind) My job is to make sure that the pillow feels good. Im a pro at sleeping after all.(Siesta) Ah, right(Hind) What the heck is a pro at sleeping? I probably wouldnt understand it even if I asked her so I wont. Chapter 118 Uwahso tired(Wataru) This is quite unusualto see Wacchi burnt out.(Shuuhei) During school break, I was lying down on the desk without moving. I would have to get up by the time classes started, so I was resting now while I could. Therefore, I couldnt really afford to deal with Shuuhei, who had approached me during break time. Thats why, stop poking me on my sides. I dont even have the will to retaliate. Hey, Wataru. Thanks for the dictionar-whats wrong? Why are you lying down on the desk? Thats unusual.(Kenji) This voice, is it Kenji? I dont feel like lifting up my face, but it seems like he came over to return the dictionary I lent him. In response to me just extending one hand, he placed the dictionary on top and I could feel its weight. After placing it inside my desk, I returned my hand to its original position. Sorry, Kenji. Even though its quite pathetic, Im like this because I played a game for too long(Wataru) Hah? You did? A game at that? You are not like this idiot over here, are arrows going to rain down today?(Kenji) Kenji, you bastard!(Shuuhei) From within the vicinity of my desk I could feel the vibrations made by people wrestling. Stopplease, stopIm starting to feel sickugh Oh? You did it in order to make it in time for the deadline of the event huh(Kenji) While trying to follow up after the rest of the guild members, Wacchi went over his limits. Seems like he stayed until really late working on his own part.(Shuuhei) Even if its VR, you can get really tired if you do really detailed work for long periods of timeIm glad that tomorrow we have no class. If its one day, I think Ill be able to do something about this situation(Wataru) Rather than my body being tired, it feels more like my nerves are. I was able to somehow rise up, but I dont think I could gather the strength to move around. I thought it would be out of the question for me to become like this from playing a game, which is supposed to be for entertainment butit seems like today is no good. It seems like one way or another, Ive become addicted to TB too. But at least you are different to Shuuhei, since you try to stay awake during class at least.(Kenji) Kenji, why do you always have to use me as an example?(Shuuhei) I mean, when we were in the same class last year, you slept during class and were cheerful during breaks. Even though its for the same reason, I was thinking about the differences with this current situation.(Kenji) Well, yeah I guess(Shuuhei) Shuuhei awkwardly turned his head away. I was able to somehow think of the design and succeeded in making it in time yesterday evening. It goes the same way for the things the other members were making. With this, the Queen will announce the results of the reviews tomorrow, and its planned that the items will go on auction the next day. By the way, wont you play it, Kenji? Trail Blazer that is.(Shuuhei) I only play FPS games. I know that TB is popular and I also have a VRX3500 though.(Kenji) Thought so. Now that I think about it, Kenji was a military otaku, why are you in the same cooking club as Wacchi?(Shuuhei) Kenji, you really wanted to make something like survival food, right? If there was a mountaineering club, you might have joined that one?(Wataru) You are not wrong there. However, learning about seasoning and cuisine is not really a waste so the cooking club is not bad either, you know?(Kenji) Though, because the majority of members are female, we tend to make sweet stuff far more often. To suggest making survival food in that settingtheyd definitely refuse. Its just that since the guys from the sport clubs asked for it, we also tend to make proper food. The Pirozhki?s we made that time are one example of it. Fried foods are quite popular among the guys. While having that conversation, the chime rang. Whoops, this is bad. See you, Wataru. There are only three lessons left, hang in there.(Kenji) Im going back to my seat too, Wacchi.(Shuuhei) Sure(Wataru) I took out my textbooks with sluggish movements akin to those of Siesta-chan. Lunch break. Having somehow survived the lessons, I spread out the bento in the courtyard along with Shuuhei and Miyu, just like always. Feeling the warmth of the sunlight, I felt even more sluggish. W-Wataru, are you OK? You are closing your eyes!(Miyu) So sleepy.(Wataru) Wacchi, how about some coffee today? Lets try to get through this with caffeine, next class is math after all. Should I buy it for you?(Shuuhei) Sorry, please. Black.(Wataru) Sure thing.(Shuuhei) Shuuhei received some change from me and walked towards the vending machine. Like the three members of Baby Bird, I was now thinking that it might have been good if we had worked together to make something. The area of expertise of each member was all over the place, so I thought that it would be a good opportunity for each of us to make a product, but it seems like it might have been a bit too much. Once I get back today and finish up my domestic chores, Ill go straight to sleep. Wataru, I also took a look at TBs BBS.(Miyu) Ah? Thats unusual. Was there an interesting thread?(Wataru) It seems like crafters with professional skills will be showing up in divisions of the contest. Ah, by professional skills I mean a professional in the real world, you know?(Miyu) Oh.(Wataru) According to Yumir, there will be people like: someone that started off as a doctor/pharmacist but then became a real life swordsmith, a farmer or florist that might become something like her rival, a fashion designer that might prove to become an obstacle to me, etc. Obviously, many people will hide their real life occupations, since its a game, there would also be people that will have fun doing something thats not like their real life job too though There are also plenty of people that go on social media and reveal information about themselves too. It seems like she saw a thread of people opposing having said pros participate in the event. Theres one side that is being optimistic and saying that its not like the game is the same as real life. Since the system omits certain parts and its not like the materials are the same as those of real life, it shouldnt matter that they are prosor something like that.(Miyu) Yup, I see. What about the other side?(Wataru) Since this is a VR game, people with actual skills definitely have an advantage. There are those being pessimistic and saying that they will probably hog all the top spots in the ranking.(Miyu) I see. So the amateurs are trying to see how far they can bring those pros down? But you know, there were a fair amount of people with experience in Kendo and martial arts during the tournament, right? Though thats only a similar situation.(Wataru) The catalogue of the entries in the contest have started to be uploaded onto the website. It seems like the threads are talking about it while looking at that right now.(Shuuhei) Shuuhei was back with the drinks. He handed me a can of coffee and after operating his smartphone, he showed me the screen. Judging from how fast he did it, it seems like he had already bookmarked the website. They seem to made quite well, wonder if theyll get into the auction as they are?(Shuuhei) Think so? Apart from those that dont want to present them in the auction.(Wataru) What is this backscratcher thing used for?(Miyu) To scratch your bacdoesnt seem like it. Its in the weapons category.(Wataru) Its classified as a staff. There were many pieces of gear with unique appearances, it was pretty fun looking at them. I held Shuuheis smartphone while both of them looked at it from each side. But, is this backscratcher strong?(Miyu) Well, there are RPGs where weapons like this are stronger. Right, Wacchi?(Shuuhei) Like using a deck brush instead of a spear? Ah, something like using a frying pan as a weapon too.(Wataru) Thats it!(Shuuhei) There are both of those in the catalogue. As weapons.(Wataru) You serious!?(Shuuhei and Miyu) They are usually weapons that you wouldnt be able to obtain if you progressed normally, they tend to be really strong. Regarding the stats of the ones in the catalogue, there are no mentions of it so I dont know. Though showing the numerical values of the gear in the auction should be a requirement when they exhibit them. Its all a mess on the defensive gear side. Theres a lot of costumes(Wataru) Albert setI want it!(Shuuhei) You are the only one that would want that. I dont want it.(Miyu) If you look at it, isnt this just a costume? The muscles are drawn on top of it you know?(Wataru) This is one of those joke goods. What I sent it were clothes but they were of the defensive gear category. After taking a look at them, I sorted the items by another category and we could tell from a single glance that these were seasonal items. Laughing mushroomwait, this is not one of those that you wont be able to stop laughing after eating them but-(Wataru) The mushroom itself laughs. To attach a mouth to a mushroom, gross.(Miyu) I dont think thats something Miyucchi and Wacchi can say considering some of the plants youve made(Shuuhei) Well, I couldnt understand the rules of combining plants even now I guess you could say that its not that weird for something like this to come out. There are also stuffed toys to decorate your home, from gross ones to cute ones, there are a great variety of them. Like that, we had lunch while retorting at the items that appeared in the catalogue. Chapter 119 The day they were going to announce the results of the contest, in the lounge room of the guild home, including me, there were five members of Migratory Bird and three members of Baby Bird, for a total of eight people. We placed chairs around the table and most of us were seated down around it. Soon, the Queen will start announcing the results, but it is possible to watch this outside and inside the game. In our case, our representative, Yumir, had expanded her menu window and projected it onto a wall. We thought that we might have been able to enter the royal palace since we were in Sala, but unfortunately, it wasnt possible to watch the announcement directly. That being the case, we ended up in this situation that was close to watching it on TV. With it being projected as if it was magic, it was pretty close to watching it in person. Susupuwah. Senpai, another cup of tea please.(Siesta) Hmm, its not starting yet(Lycoris) Theres five minutes until the scheduled time. Ah, Hind-senpai, me and Lyco want a cup too. Sorry about this.(Cineraria) Siesta-chan was asking for another cup of tea, Lycoris-san was walking around while hugging the pillow they didnt submit, and Cineraria-chan just opened her menu window to check the time. Selene-san, who was sitting next to them, gave me a smile. Hind-kun. Lycoris and co seem to be quite relaxed(Selene) I get the feeling these girls are hardly ever at their own guild home(Hind) With this, theres like no meaning in us splitting the guildwell, not like I mind. Im happier if they approach us proactively like this instead of avoiding us. You two, just relax, sit down and watch it. Especially today, its just us watching the results in a relaxed manner-(Tobi) Oh? This is quite a surprise, Tobi-san. Is it OK for you to not go Its the Queen, Uhyooo like you always do?(Riizu) It has to be like that, Riizu. Simply, the Queen is not to this guys liking!(Yumir) Yumir, thats correct!(Hind) Hind-dono, dont just go saying its correct on your own! I havent even said anything, right!?(Tobi) Then, are we wrong?(Hind) Once I asked him, in an easy to understand manner, Tobi just stayed silent. If I remember correctly, this guys type was A girl that just makes you want to protect her, so the Queen was probably outside his strike zone. That Queen, shes quite strong willed no matter how you look at herso shes probably not that type. By the way, Tobi-san. The one you liked the most was Maou-chan right? As I thought you are a lolic-(Riizu) You are wrong! Didnt I deny liking Maou-chan already!?(Tobi) But this guy, he didnt have any reaction when it came to Philia-chan.(Yumir) Philia-chan has a masculine personality thats closer to her dad after allmaybe shes just a bit different from what he likes?(Hind) Im telling you guys that its not like that! Hey, are you listening to me!?(Tobi) Tobi-kundont mind it.(Selene) Selene-don, you too!?(Tobi) Being teased by Selene-san, who was the only one in the guild with a conscience, Tobi seemed to genuinely be shocked. Seeing him look so miserable, the three members of Baby Bird couldnt help but burst out laughing. The relaxed atmosphere in the lounge room was suddenly filled with tension. Noise could be heard from the screen and the blurry image gradually started to clear up. After correcting her posture, she looked towards us. Not done yet, Jiiya? If this goes on, youll be a laughing stock to myself and the visitors, you know?(Queen) Please wait a moment until the magical wavelength stabilizes. Princess, there sure are times where you act childish and short tempered. Arbol-dono, watch your tongue! Even if you are her former educator, thats not a tone you should address her Majesty wi- Its fine, Miles. Jiiya, just do it already.(Queen) The voices kept cutting off but if you concentrated enough, you were able to hear quite a bit. You just connected the words you could make out and while you wouldnt be able to know what they said word for word, you could guess what they were talking about. When the picture sort of stabilized, the Queen sat down on her throne while two men stood next to each other. The one on the right should probably be the one she called Jiiya, he was an old man wearing a mage robe. Opposite to him on the left side, there was a young muscular man with tanned skin. He was the current leader of the Imperial Soldier Squad, theDesert Owls. It seems like he admires the Queen and has also taken the role of her attendant. Do you hear me? VisitorsIm the Queen of the Kingdom of Sala, Patra?Adenium?Sala.(Queen) Fixing the posture of her legs and giving a sweet smile, the Queen looked towards the players and threw those words. Watching those movements that gave you the feeling that you would be able to see but at the same time not be able to, Tobi and I unconsciously gulped and made a sound with our throats. In an instant, under the table, my foot was attacked in unison from multiple sides. O-Ouch!! What!? Whats going on!?(Hind) ? Did something happen, Hind-senpai?(Lycoris) No, just no-(Hind) I refrained from saying the words I was going to say to Lycoris-chan. My instincts are telling me that I shouldnt do it. Dont say anything more, you are going to get kicked againor something like that. Its nothing. My leg just kind of cramped up a bit.(Hind) Eeh!? Be careful, even if its inside the game, if your leg cramps up itll hurt!(Lycoris) Lycoris-chan, are you speaking from experience?(Hind) Lyco is quite hasty, so she strains herself more than needed on the first fight after she logs inhah(Cineraria) I see, you can get leg cramps even inside the game. That was dangerous, Hind-dono.(Tobi) Yeah.(Hind) It seems like my instincts were right, like that, the mysterious feeling of tension in the air dissipated. But right now, Im pretty sure kicks from four sides hit me One with great vigor, one that grinded against my foot, a reserved and soft one that I couldnt feel any pain from, and one that felt unmotivated but just thought Well, guess Ill just start by stepping on it. Right now, all the people that havent participated in the conversation looked suspicious. I get the feeling which one was which but at the same time I kinda dont want to know. Muh, she finally finished the introductions. She sure loves putting up airs!(Yumir) The introduction was unnecessarily long, right? Good grief, this is why middle-aged women are(Riizu) When Yumir and Riizu let out those thorny words, I returned my gaze towards the screen. With a snap of the Queens fingers, the surroundings of the throne darkened, when she snapped them again, a light akin to that of a spotlight illuminated a mountain of items. Judging from the amount, it seems like all the items from a single category were there. Which means First off, Ill announce the results for the items called Items?Others by the visitors. The items here are the top one hundredif you are able to see yours within these, you should feel happy.(Queen) Hearing those words, we all stood up and approached the screen to look more closely. Showing in this category were Yumirs Adenium and Baby Birds Cotton Pillow. Hey hey, did you see it!? Is our pillow there!? Sai-chan!(Lyco) I get the feeling its this white one, but also not at the same time. I cant say it with confidence.(Cineraria) Hmmmaccording to my pillow sensor, I believe theres no doubt that, thats our pillow.(Siesta) Whats a pillow sensor!? Not only Lycoris-chan and Cineraria-chan, but everyone retorted and when she heard that, Siesta-chan acted as if she didnt care and just let out a big yawn. Leaving aside whether theres such a pillow sense or not, what about our potted plant!? Where is our Adenium!? Its no good, Hind, I cant find it! Or rather, I cant see the small items further in the back! Like this, I cant tell at all if its there or not!(Yumir) Zoom in the camera! Like this, the only thing we can see clearly are the big items!(Hind) Well then, well now proceed to announce the top ten. Just wait there.(Queen) Aaaaah!!(Yumir and Hind) My and Yumirs cries were in vain, the mountain of items just disappeared from the screen. Chapter 120 Hi there, First off, I forgot to mention one thing last time. The name of the elderly man seems to be Arbol. The term Jiiya that the Queen uses to refer to him is a term thats used to refer to servants that are rather old. I couldnt really think of anything to translate it into English so I just left it as is. Hope that clears things up if anyone was confused at him being called by different terms by Miles and the Queen. As for the next chapter, I should (probably) have at least another chapter before the year ends, more than that will depend on how much I laze around. Ill probably wait until the 31st to release anything in case I manage to translate more than one. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. First off in 10th place(Queen) A single murmur. The Queen still sat down on her throne and closed her eyes, then she extended her hand towards the mountain of items. Just when we thought that those movements of hers were weird, the hand the Queen had extended was enveloped in faint light. Following that, the light shifted towards the mountain of items and a single item within it started to release light as if it was called upon. Miles.(Queen) Yes.(Miles) Being called by the Queen, he went to retrieve the item that was releasing light within the pile of items. It was an exciting production fit for a game. The members present here let out an Ooh! in admiration. Captain Miles got closer to the Queen, knelt on one knee and offered her the article by putting it up with both hands. The Queen retrieved the item with a nod and then picked it up so that it could be seen on the screen. In 10th place is a portrait of myself! Uumu, its certainly beautiful(Queen) She flattered herself right from the get go!? The ones that shouted were me, Yumir and Tobi. It looked like an oil painting. With a delicate touch, the Queen was beautifully drawn. Even judging from this distance, you could tell that it was drawn with impressive technique. However, this was really an article that would take into consideration what the Queen deemed the most important thing. The item name is Queens Portrait. The exhibitor name is Kurt, this will be the only painting. But I must say, this is quite the splendid masterpiece(Queen) Muh? Kurtthat name sounds familiar.(Yumir) Ah, it must be that one, right? He wasnt a painter, but if I remember correctly, he should a be a professional illustrator.(Hind) So the first person to be mentioned is one of those pros that entered the contest huh? I can easily imagine the state of the BBS at this moment(Tobi) I also took a look at the BBS yesterday and its one of the names that were brought up in it. I looked him up and I remember that a lot of his illustrations were of 2D moe characters, but it seems like he can draw paintings like this one too And this choice and comments from the Queen, there should be a limit to how narcissistic a person can be. Though it is true that the painting was beautiful. Miles, next one.(Queen) Yes!(Miles) Then they announced the 9th and 8th place, but there were no signs of the Adenium or the pillow. The three members of Baby Bird seemed to be satisfied with being within the top 100, but that was not the case for Yumir and I. If it was possible, wed like to be within the top 10. However, cruelly, the spots just kept being taken. Well then, as for the 1st place in the item?others category(Queen) Ah, I guess it was no good(Hind) Wait, we dont know yet, Hind! Wouldnt it be possible for us to be in 1st place!?(Yumir) The camera closed up onto the mountain of items and it was so close that it was hard to tell what the item that took 1st place was. It was so close that I could only tell that it was of a light brown color. oh? Wait, this light brown color You two, isnt this a potted plant? Am I wrong?(Selene) We were surprised at Selene-sans statement. Its true that this light brown color was similar to that of a potted plant. Its just that, when the screen was blurred out, we had seen two things that looked similarCaptain Miles raised up the thing that looked like a potted plant furthest in the back. Pleaseplease!(Hind) Adenium.Adenium! Come!(Yumir) Please, let it be an Adenium! While we were praying, the footage started from the Queens feet and it slowly went around until it showed what she had on her hand. The name of the item in 1st place(Queen) The Queen took her sweet time in order to tease us. Yumir, who was praying next to me, started getting annoyed and proceeded to begin stomping her feet. I get what shes feeling, but its bad manners so please stop. The name of the item isGolden Adenium! The exhibitor is Fiore!(Queen) I dont know how the person did it, but even though it was an organic flower, this Adenium released a glow akin to metallic gold. Obviously, it wasnt the item we sent in, we stood there dumbfounded for a little while and then Daaaaaaah!? We lost to a similar article!!(Hind) Its true that its an Adenium, but!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!(Yumir) We wrapped our hands around our heads and started to unseemly scream. There were a lot of entries that had the name Adenium, which is related to my own name, but within those there was this golden one. Apart from this, an Adenium with seven colors also picked up my interest.(Queen) Thanks for the compliment, god damn it! If you liked it that much, make it so that it entered the top 10!(Hind) Senpai, senpai, your speech is becoming weird, you know? Are you OK?(Siesta) Nuaaaaaaaaaaah!! Its so vexiiiiiiiiing!!(Yumir) Yumir-san, you are being noisy. Be frustrated more quietly.(Riizu) Ah, that was so closeits a shame.(Tobi) Since she went as far as to mention it, it should have entered the top 100. Its probably that potthat one is probably the Seven Colored Adeniumwe submitted. That one is also a product of mixing different plants, though it was a coincidence that we made one. Then, the announcement of the results went on a break and in our menu window, the top 100 winners were announced along with a single comment for their entries. Surprisingly, this Queen takes her work quite seriously. According to it, the pillow was in 89th place and our Adenium was in 13th place. Each member looked at the results on their own and took a sip of the herbal tea. The Queen tastes allocate far more points than I thought.(Hind) The moment I said that after reviewing the results, Riizu and Selene-san nodded. You are right. In the top 10, there are a total of 5 items that are golden or have a crimson color, which the Queen likes.(Riizu) Apart from items that have colors the Queen likes, I get the feeling that theres a big amount of items that are comparatively luxurious. Like a vase with gems(Selene) That chandelier that illuminates with magic was amazing!(Lycoris) Everything was so gorgeous right? I wonder if our pillow was just too plain(Cineraria) It seems like Lycoris-chan and Cineraria-chan had similar thoughts. After talking for a while, we more or less understood her tendencies. Even though it was just as we had previously expected, we cant help but feel frustrated. However, whats with this review? If you had selected only the colors I liked, I would have given it a higher ratingor so she said!? Is she making fun of us!?(Yumir) Quite the crude review. I guess it cant be helped since its only a brief comment.(Tobi) Well, since 101th place and lower wont even be getting a comment, I guess this is better than nothing?(Hind) This event wont just end after we receive our reviews. After this, the auction will be held and this comment from the Queen might have an effect on the bids. While we were having this conversation, Siesta-chan, who had her chin resting on one hand while she operated the menu window with the other, raised her face and looked at me. Senpai, in the auction, can the exhibitors add brief comments like this?(Siesta) Hmm? Yeah, you should be able to add them the same way as the trading BBS.(Hind) Why are you asking that, Si-chan?(Lycoris) Hmmmlook, take a look at the comment the Queen made on our pillow.(Siesta) Siesta-chan turned her windows towards Lycoris-chan. I was curious so I scrolled down my own window to the 89th place and this statement appeared. In a brief comment I got some quality sleep with it. Dont tell me Siesta-chan This comment is something the Queen said!, I was thinking we could raise up the value of our item in the auction if we added comments like that.(Siesta) Hearing that way of thinking, or rather, that idea, we let out an Ahand had mixed feelings. Lycoris-chan was the only one that was genuinely confused and asked Siesta-chan Is that so? Why?. Its true that it could raise its priceif you were a male fan of the Queen and bid for it. It was quite the underhanded way to do so. As always, she has a way of thinking that doesnt befit a middle schooler. Though you could say that Lycoris-chan, who genuinely didnt understand it at all, was at the other extreme too. Riizu turned to Siesta-chan with her eyes half closed. You sure have quite the nice personality. I cant help but admire you.(Riizu) The little sister is the only person I dont want to be told that by, though? Wouldnt you have done the same thing if you were in my place?(Siesta) I wouldnt have done it? So rude.(Riizu) There was such a weird pause there. Well, not like I care.(Siesta) Thats what people call, birds of a feather flock together. Next to Siesta-chan, who was being glared at by Riizu, was Lycoris-chan, who still hadnt received an answer. This time, she tried asking Selene-san. Please stop, Lycoris-chan! Selene-san looks very troubled! Chapter 121 Hi there, Not quite the 1st of January yet but Ill be dropping 2 chapters again early. Now Ill return to slacking and probably wont attempt to translate anything for a couple days at least. Happy new year, have a nice day and enjoy the chapters. Well then, next one. Its time for the category Item?Throwable.(Queen) Throwableif I remember correctly, there was an article made by Tobi-senpai and Hind-senpai here right?(Cineraria) Thats right. Though I only made the design for it, it was mostly made by Hind-dono.(Tobi) Tobi was the one that replied to Cineraria-chans question. A few days ago, the members of Baby Bird came to watch our work while we were working together on it. Selene-san, who noticed our conversation, looked at us apologetically. Could it be that you used the towns blacksmith workshop? Sorry, it must have been because I was using the home one all the time(Selene) Dont worry about it. The one in town was more than good enough for the work.(Hind) In return, Im expecting great results from you, Selene-dono. Fufufu.(Tobi) Well, thats how it is. I havent heard what it was, so Im looking forward to it.(Hind) While I did mix some jokes in there, most of it were my honest thoughts. Selene-san probably understood it so she returned a smile. Uwah, you sure are putting some pressure on mebut well, leave it to me. Im quite confident in what I submitted after all.(Selene) Oohh, Secchan sure is confident right now!(Yumir) Though given the order, equipment should be lastthat being said, regardless of the result, our opinion of Secchans skills wont change so be reassuredwhat is it? Why is everyone looking at me.(Riizu) Since the hurdle kept being raised, taking into consideration Selene-sans feelings, Riizu said some considerate words to her. Its because of things like this, that few people that have known Riizu for long come to hate her despite her usual remarks being filled with sarcasm. Though, the members of Baby Bird were looking at my sister as if they were watching something unusual since they havent known her for long. Thank you, Riizu-chan.(Selene) I didnt do anything(Riizu) Riizu looked down bashfully because of Selene-sans honest words of gratitude. Immediately after the atmosphere in the lounge turned warm, the Queens words cut in. I take you already know how this is going to go? First off, the items that have made it into the top 100. Bang!(Queen) Shes suddenly introducing as she pleases(Hind) She probably hates being all formal(Tobi) Quite the selfish Queen!(Yumir) That part, hasnt changed at all from the first time weve seen her(Riizu) Next to her, the old mage called Arbol was also shaking his head because of the Queens attitude. The same way as last time, as if being called by the Queens words, a mountain of items appeared. Exhibited in this category, was a set of Special Kunais made by Tobi and me. Within the set there were: Poison Kunai, Paralysis Kunai and Sleep Kunai. For the auction, we plan to sell fifty sets. When it comes down to consumable items like this one, you are able to designate the quantity. Since the number of items doesnt really influence the review, if a player doesnt have any interest in having the item in the auction, they would probably only submit a single one. I-I found it! Its our Kunai Set!(Tobi) Yeah. Since the case for it is huge, it was pretty easy to find.(Hind) That sure raises our expectations. I wonder how itll go(Selene) In order to protect people from the chemical laced blade, we used leather covers for the kunais and on top of that, we put them inside a wooden japanese style box. Since there were three of them, it was quite easy to find them within the mountain of items. With this, top 100 is a given. The problem is if they had gotten into the top 10 or not. In 10th place(Queen) The announcement of the items went by more smoothly than the first category, the only one left was 1st place. As for the item in 1st place, the Queen said that she would use a copy of the item right there. The screen is completely white and you cant see anything(Hind) However, wouldnt this be how it Aniki would have felt when he was hit by Hind-donos Shining during the tournament?(Tobi) Surprisingly, the person might have gotten the idea from watching senpai fight? It had quite the impact after all.(Siesta) Is that so? Though unlike Shining, it would be great if it affected all the monsters.(Hind) 1st place was a throwable weapon called Flash Sphere, since the Queen had used it there, the screen had turned completely white. Unfortunately, the Kunai Set wasnt mentioned, it seems like its harder to get into the top 10 than I thought. Ahahahaha! Amusing, so amusing! With this, the announcement for the item?throwable category is now over. Well proceed to the next one once Arbol and Miles eyesight recovers. Its fine for you, the visitors to go and wait for a little while!(Queen) Your majesty, you are going too far with your games! Muh? Her presenceMiles! Miles! After her!(Arbol) I-Im very sorry, Arbol-dono! Such negligence from my partyour majesty! Your Majesty! Where are you!? Damn it, I cant see anything!(Miles) Both retainers seem to have taken a direct hit from the light so they were left confused and the image from the screen was interrupted. By chance, it has been proved that this item can be useful as an anti personnel weapon. Its just that, I believe the reason this item got 1st place is most likely because of the comment the Queen left Because it was flashy. Then the results up to the 100th place appeared on the screen. KunaiKunaithere they are. They are in 52nd place, such a shame. Though they are weapons with a beautiful shape that cant be found in our country, they are quite plainor so she says. She is complimenting them, but it seems like they didnt match her tastes.(Hind) Could we had aimed higher if we had gone with the bo-hiya?(Tobi) Looking at the results, it might have been better than the kunais. Well, lets just hope they sell for a high price later in the auction.(Hind) Muh, such a shameeven though the kunais that Hind-senpai and Tobi-senpai made are so cool.(Lycoris) Due to the conversation I was having with Tobi, everyone tried to comfort us by saying things like It was unfortunate. Since Lycoris-chan was feeling genuinely frustrated as if she had made them with us, we didnt feel that down about it. Shes really such a nice girl. Unexpectedly, Siesta-chan also tried to comfort us. I believe that even just placing within the top 100 twice in a row is more than impressive enough.(Siesta) Well, I did team up with Yumir, Tobi and Selene-san from the first day. I was with Riizu from the third day onwards, so I guess we were in a more advantageous position that other players.(Hind) But even us, if we Hind-senpai wasnt there-(Cineraria) Cineraria-dono, you shouldnt say more.(Tobi) Ah, yes. You are right(Cineraria) Cineraria-chan abstained herself from saying more, she then stood up from her seat, came next to me and started caressing my back. Ah, yes, thank youits true that it might have been a bit too hard on me this time. However, this should be something like what you do when you go around following up after those two right? Seeing my gaze, Cineraria-chan gave me a nod and then looked at Lycoris-chan and Siesta-chan. That might be true, but I think the fun I have with those two beats the hardships I have to go through. That goes for me toothere, we were having such a back and forth without muttering a single word We exchanged handshakes and patted each others backs. I had this feeling of sympathy that was pretty close to what I felt towards Samael, a close aide of Maou=chan. S-Sai-chan, what happened just now?(Lycoris) Its something like the sort of feelings you have towards Yumir-senpai.(Cineraria) I see!(Lycoris) Lycoris-chan hit her hand in understanding, I think its impressive how she understood that. Chapter 122 The Queen, who appeared again on screen, was sitting down on the throne with a smile, as if she was having fun. On the other hand, the two men standing close to her looked very tired, as if they had gone through a lot of hardships even though they had caught the Queen. Maybe it was so that the Queen wouldnt escape again, this time, there were a number of court ladies standing behind them. The number of people around the throne had increased in one go. Visitors, sorry for the wait. Well continue with the announcements.(Queen) The Queen snapped her fingers in a good mood, and this time, numerous bottles with liquids inside appeared on top of a table. This is easy to understand, its time for the medicine category. From Migratory Bird, Riizu submitted a certain poison. However, I cant tell which one is whose at allis the number of them the only special thing about this category?(Tobi) Most of them will be either green, blue or purple liquids after all. Unlike the other categories, it would be troublesome if they suddenly took out all the items in the top 100.(Hind) Umu, is there even any meaning in introducing the items in this category all at the same time? I dont know either.(Queen) Then just abbreviate it, though theres no way she would be able to feel the cold gazes of players that thought that. After clearing her throat, the Queen proceeded to announce the item in 10th place. The item in 10th place in the medicine categoryits name is, Wet Compress! The Exhibitor is Philia!(Queen) Puh!?(Hind) Uwah, Hind-dono, thats dirty!(Tobi) Suddenly hearing that name, I spat out the herbal tea I had inside my mouth. A large amount of the tea had fallen on Riizus face, who was sitting next to me. Aaah, sorry! If I remember correctly, I should have a sanitary cloth inside my inventory(Hind) Fufu, fufufufufu(Riizu) Seeing Riizu suddenly start laughing while being all wet, apart from me, everyone else stood up from their seats and started backing off. Why is this girl laughing while looking absentminded Anyway, theres no doubt that this is my fault so Ill wipe off the tea from her. Dont mind it, Hind-san. Im hap-Im fine.(Riizu) I-Is that so? But, Im sorry. How about going to the river and washing off your fa-(Hind) I dont want to.(Riizu) She refused before I even finished talking. I believe it would feel gross if she just wiped it off though Even if they are avatars, I believe she would feel better if she washed it off with water. From the members that had stood up, Yumir was the first one to return to her seat. Even I would be put off by that, that expression right nowwhat wrong with your brain?(Yumir) Im fine if Yumir-san doesnt understand it.(Riizu) C-Calm down, you two. Hind-kun, I understand that you were surprised, but be careful OK?(Selene) Ah, yeah. Im very sorryIll be careful. Sorry, everyone.(Hind) Within that delicate atmosphere, just as the other members returned to their seats, an email arrived. It seems like Yumir received it too, we exchanged looks and she started to operate her menu window. I also opened mine, it seems like the sender was Philia-chan. Sender: Philia Subject: Regarding the item contest. Body: Dad told me to try submitting it so I submitted the wet compress I made with Hind and Yumir. It was thanks to both of you that I was able to enter the top 10, thank you. As thanks, Ill make lots of wet compresses and send them to you. Once we let everyone else know that we had received such an email, Lycoris-chan voiced her admiration. Really? If I remember correctly, Philia-chan stayed over here while we couldnt log in, right?(Lycoris) Thats right. Shes with Albert now, it seems like they are going here and there like always, while doing mercenary work.(Hind) Since the effects of the wet compress are unusual, I can accept that it is placed high. I did help a little bit with it too, I feel a bit better now even if my Adenium didnt make it!(Yumir) It was a joint work between us after all. Its probably because Philia-chan thought the same that she sent this email.(Hind) We left everything regarding whether Philia-chan wanted to reveal the formula to make the wet compresses or not all up to her, so we didnt have anything to say in the matter. Shes free to do whatever she wants. I replied back with a congratulatory message and closed my window. If Im not wrong, they gradually recover HP right? When I heard about them, I was quite surprised.(Tobi) Though you did look just as surprised when you heard about it this time. Siesta-dono retorted to something I said!?(Tobi) You, why do you look slightly happy(Hind) No, I was just relieved because its not like she just ignores me.(Tobi) Such groundless accusationsI wouldnt do something like that. In Tobi-senpais case, if you just stopped looking so persistently at my chest, I wouldnt have any other problems with you.(Siesta) Uguh! I-I apologized-degozaru(Tobi) While they were having such a conversation, inside the screen, THe Queen personally stuck a replica of the wet compress on the lower back of the old man, Arbol. Bitan! Such a sound accompanied the action, it was quite the rough way to do it. Due to that, the old man grimaced and let out a Ofuh, shortly after, his expression relaxed. Seems like the wet compress started to work. The fact that it smells a bit bothers mebut this is good. Right, Jiiya?(Queen) Yes, this Arbol guarantees it. It lightens the pain that comes with ageuumufuu(Arbol) With this sequence of events, Philia-chans item, the wet compress, placed in 10th place. Following that, 9th to 6th place was full of orthodox medicines. As a result of compounding being crafting with a high degree of difficulty alongside blacksmithing, the only thing that made the products lined up there different, was purely their effectiveness. That makes me think that the one in 6th place was just a medium grade potion that simply had a high effect. With that being said, until now, you could just say that it felt kind of plain. Even the fact that they went as far as to use the wet compress was quite plain. Then it was finally time for 5th place butthe hand of the Queen, who had been smoothly introducing each item suddenly stopped. Noticing something, the Queen held a certain green medicine in her hand and signaled Miles with her eyes. Miles gave a bow and then left, then he immediately returned with a middle aged fat man alongside him. What are they going to do? Its been a while, Barow.(Queen) I-Its been a while your Majesty! It seems like you are in the middle of some exhibition, why did you call for me during such a time?(Barow) Nothing much, I thought I would have you help me with announcing the results of the visitors event. This is medicine made by the visitors. Its quite effective, you know? Try drinking it.(Queen) B-But your Majesty.(Barow) Drink it.(Queen) Being left with no other choice, the middle aged man calmed himself down and looked around. From his looks, he seemed like a noble, he seemed to hold a big position at that Hey, Riizu. I have a really bad feeling about this.(Hind) I was hoping that the Queen would accidentally drink that one. So shes going to use it like thistsk.(Riizu) Eh? The potion the Queen is holding, thats something you both made?(Selene) Youll understand when you see it, Selene-san(Hind) Its something only us, who had made it, would understand. It was different from what its color suggested. Hardening his resolve, the man called Barow closed his eyes and drank it all in one gothen he dropped the bottle and fell to his knees in that spot. The bottle was destroyed as it fell to the ground and apart from Riizu and I, the other members froze in place. So it really turned out like this Visitors, its rather embarrassing butthis man is someone from our country, and he was a member of the rebellion. Hes not dead, so theres no need for you to worry. Well then(Queen) Miles raised up Barow with some help from Arbol. His whole body was numb, Barow was completely unable to movesave from the neck upwards. It was that type of special anaesthetic. How are you feeling? Barow.(Queen) Hiii! Majesty, your Majesty! Have mercyyyyyyy!(Barow) Fumu, it has quite the impressive effectiveness. On top of being able to talk like this, its nice how its camouflaged as medicine. I can make use of this, so he cant bite his own tongue, we should take out all his tee-(Queen) Just as the Queen was saying those words, the image suddenly cut off. Then, a system message appeared alongside the black screen. Due to the possibility of the NPC Patra doing inappropriate actions, well interrupt the footage for a little bit. We apologize for the inconvenience but please, wait for a moment. I wrapped my head with my hands, Riizu sighed because her plan had failed and the other members stood there with their mouths wide open. Being the only one that completely understood the situation, Siesta-chan wrapped her arms around her abdomen and started laughing. Chapter 123 Hi there, Nothing much to say here other than I should be back to doing more timely updates (maybe). Enjoy the chapter. Even though we had gotten 5th place, the atmosphere in the lounge was quite delicate. Ah, ehcongratulations on 5th place, Riizu-chan! Hind-kun too!(Selene) After Selene-san gave us her congratulations with a forced smile, the other four members finally returned back to normal. Though the message on the screen was still there I only helped a bit with the finishing touches, so praise Riizu more.(Hind) When I said that, Yumir nodded and took a step forward. I cant believe her being able to praise Riizu butwhy was she the first one to go? What is she going to do? Not bad! It was a poison that really displayed just how bad your personality is!(Yumir) You are picking a fight, right, Yumir-san? That definitely didnt sound like a compliment.(Riizu) Muh? Thats no-I might be!(Yumir) You stand right there! Today, I will definitely not forgive you!(Riizu) Ah, as I thought, it ended up like this. While both of them started to wrestle with both hands, Siesta-chan came closer to me and asked. So, senpai. That poison, how were you able to disguise it as healing medicine?(Siesta) We made a concentrated solution from the poisonous leaves of one of the Adeniumswhen we did, it became an anaesthetic with a green color. Then, we mixed it with medicinal herbs with low recovery effects and a dark green color and the result was that anaesthetic. By the way, the reason it paralyzes from the neck down, was the result of a coincidence from trying to mix them with various quantities.(Hind) Thats so evil. From a distance, it looks exactly like an HP potion, you know? Its effect is basically telling us Please, use me to torture someone.(Tobi) Well yeah. In the end, it was used for that exact purpose after all.(Hind) For the developers to have had to stop it, thats something quite unheard of, right? Pukuku(Siesta) It seems like Siesta-chan cant help but find what Riizu and I did funny. Strictly speaking, the one that did it was the Queen and we didnt really do anything. However, as the son of a nurse, this is quite the regrettable turn of events. Laughing is quite rude, Si. Right, Hind-senpai, when it comes to medicine, it was possible to hide information right?(Cineria) I believe what Cineraria-chan wants to know with that question is if its possible to hide information regarding that anesthetic. When players touch items or gear, information like their effects are shown after all. Its possible. Though, since people wont buy items from the trading BBS unless the information is shown, its not used often. But since Riizu really wanted to submit it without its information being shown, we submitted it like that for the contest.(Hind) So the Queen saw right through it. She doesnt look like the type that would show such a disgraceful side of hersso it turned out like this.(Selene) When she heard what Selene-san and I had to say, question marks started appearing above Lycoris-chans head. You mentioned that you wanted the Queen to accidentally drink it, but Riizu-san, do you hate the Queen?(Lycoris) Riizu-dono generally dislikes females with a better figure than hers.(Tobi) Eh? But that would mean basically every-(Lycoris) Because of Lycoris-chans careless remark, Riizu, who had sharp hearing, sent her a sharp gaze. She sure has good ears, to be able to hear that remark despite being fighting with Yumir Moving her mouth while hesitating to keep talking, Lycoris-chan started to sweat and she frantically tried to think of a way to follow it up. B-Being smaller is cuter, right!? Im currently quite small after all! Viva, SMALL!(Lycoris) But Lyco, youve been happy recently because youve gotten a bit tal-mofuh.(Siesta) Si-chan, Shhh! That was a lie! A lie, you hear me!(Lycoris) Siesta-chans mouth was frantically covered by Lycoris-chan. Just for the record, when it comes to the height of the members of Baby Bird, Cineraria-chan is slightly taller. Lycoris-chan and Siesta-chan are quite short and about the same height. Both of them are pretty much the same height as Riizu. You could say that Riizu was quite short for a high schooler. By the time there was a change in the image on the screen, Yumir and Riizu had gotten tired from their scuffle and were eating sweets with the other members. The three middle schoolers, most likely because they were getting sleepy, were dozing on and off. The Queen sat down on her throne, and her retainers were next to her as if nothing had happened. Eh, The item that took 5th place in the Item?Medicine category is called Placebo Potion(Numbness), the exhibitor is Riizu. I personally wouldnt have minded if it was placed highwhat is it Arbol? What? Dont say anything unnecessary? Ah, lets proceed to the next announcement! In 4th place(Queen) After that, it was followed with healing items, the one that acquired 1st place was a potion that healed a little bit of HP?MP and status ailments. The exhibitor was the pharmacist player that was talked about in the BBS. That concluded the item related divisions, it was finally time for the equipment ones. First off was the accessory one, since no one among us was participating in it, Ill omit it. Then, it was time for the defensive gear category I was participating in. Well then, time for the next one. The top 100 items in the armour category, Tadah!(Queen) Uwoh, so bright! Most of the exhibited goods released a dazzling golden glow. Among them, we could see some silver ones and others that gave priority to their performance, but the number of gold armor was overwhelmingly high. In the middle of those, my item was Ah, its there. For the time being, seems like I got into the top 100.(Hind) Muh? Where is it, Hind?(Yumir) There, towards the right, next to that golden dress.(Hind) Oh, that red oneah, its gone.(Tobi) I thought it would stand out because it was bright red, but the items surrounding it were just too flashy. Before everyone managed to take a look, the image was cut off, they were proceeding to announce the top 10. At that moment, Riizu said this with great conviction. Itll be fine. If the clothes are made by Hind-san, theyll definitely get in the top 10.(Riizu) W-Wait, Riizu, you! Even though you treated Selene-san so kindly, you are going to raise the expectations for me!?(Hind) Eh? But we are talking about Hind-san here, you know?(Riizu) What with that expression that is saying that it would be a given for me to place high! The way you put so much trust in me is frightening! Yumir and Tobi found that funny so they were giggling and the corners of Siesta-chans mouth also rose up. You are right! Theres no way for Hind to lose here!(Yumir) Its Hind-dono after all! Hell easily get a high rank here!(Tobi) I cant imagine senpai losing here. I have really high expectations.(Siesta) Ah, ehHind-senpai, do your best!(Lycoris) You guys sure have some baseless confidence. Besides, the results are already out, you know? Theres nothing to do my best at right now, you know?(Hind) I was feeling bewildered at how they just kept raising the hurdle. Lycoris-chan even added a comment there for some reason. Selene-san and Cineraria-chan were giving a wry smile. I was working on mine until the last moment butlooking at the goods displayed here, I can tell that real life professionals with actual experience are strong. Im not sure how mine will fare The announcements continued until 3th place, the things line up until now were things like: golden shields, armors and helmets. They were finely crafted products. Among them, the one that took 3th place drew our attention, it was a jet black armor made by a famous blacksmith player called Wales. As a top class blacksmith, he was able to get such a high rank despite disregarding the Queens tastes. You could feel something akin to pride and stubbornness from it. Is Hinds defensive gear not announced yet? Shouldnt it be about time?(Yumir) Im looking forward to it. Will it be 2nd place? Maybe even 1st place?(Tobi) Senpai, if you dont manage to place in the top 10, lets sulk in bed together, together.(Siesta) Hah? Save the sleep talking for when you are sleeping. Well, its a given that hell enter the top 10 though, so theres no point in making those kind of promises.(Riizu) Its not coming out, Hind-senpais defensive gear.(Lycoris) Only two products left, being driven to a corner by my companions, my mental was about to reach its limits. Aside from Riizu and Lycoris-chan, the other three are definitely doing it on purpose, they are for sure Just end itI dont care if I didnt get into the top 10(Hind) Hind-kun, he just had enough(Selene) Hind-senpai(Cineraria) Selene-san and Cineraria-chan are the only ones, the only ones that worry about me. While I was praying that it ended soon, the Queen announced the product that was in 2nd place. The item in 2nd place in the defensive gear categoryits name is Eishika Dress! The exhibitor is Hind!(Queen) -!!(Hind) At that moment, I gave out an incomprehensible shout and did a fist pump with both arms. Mainly, it was because I was finally free from the stress. Chapter 124 Hi there, long time no see. Sorry about the lack of updates, lets just say that stuffhappened. No worries, nothing too serious. Anyway, back with another chapter and hopefully we can get back on track for real this time but no promises there. It was kinda unfortunate that I sort of stopped right before the end of the arc. Enjoy the chapter. The fact that he managed to find our countrys treasured Eishika Cloth is already worth praisinghowever, this sewing is indeed splendid. With a mix of Camel Cloth and Wool, the dyed threads are carefully sewn. If this dress was made to perfectly fit my own figure, my evaluation of it would have been higher. Unfortunate.(Queen) Regarding the Eishika Dress Ive made this time, Ive prepared some countermeasures to the fact that since its an arranged item, it has the weakness that its size wont adapt to the wearer. The waist part is tied by a belt, in case the person doesnt like it, its also possible to remove it and replace it with a ribbon. Regarding its classification, its a simple A-Line long dress. In order to be able to easily fix its heightwell, its kind of a shame that it wasnt made to fit the Queen. In terms of performance, the Eishika Dress itself contains traces of magic, its defensive gear fit for a mage. Guah, that was so close! It was really close, Hind!(Yumir) If weve come this far, make it 1st place! Why is it in 2nd place!?(Tobi) Well, isnt it fine? Its fitting for me(Hind) I wonder why they were dissatisfied, these two were screaming as if they were more disappointed than me. Anyway, I was aware that my finishing touches were a bit lackingpersonally, this is better than what I had expected, so Im satisfied with the result. While making a dress that fit the tastes of the queen, since she liked the color red, I played around with the size so that it would be able to sell in the auction. Without doing it halfheartedly, I didnt cut corners in any of those two requirements and it seems like it paid off. Though that wasnt enough to have taken 1st place. Anyway, congratulations, senpai. All th-(Siesta) Ah, yeah. Thanks.(Hind) Siesta-chan was the first one to congratulate me and then, the rest started to do so one after another. After that, 1st place was announced, it was a golden dress made by a professional designer. The part of the skirt had a complicated pattern like that of a mesh, even though the golden color was supposed to be hard to use, it was a masterpiece that released a magical aura without feeling vulgar. Suppose that I had made a dress that perfectly fit the Queen, wouldnt I still have lost to this product? I completely lost in terms of skill. As expected of a professional, they are really strong. It was finally time to announce the winners of the last category. It was the Gear?Weapon category that Selene-san was participating in. The person herself was currently crossing her fingers and had her eyes closed as if she was praying, so, all of us naturally stayed quiet while watching over her. In contrast, the space a bit of a distance from the throne of the Queen was showing that this was finally the climax of the event. Among the weapons and gear within the top 100, there were a lot of golden ones but Among those, I couldnt tear my eyes away from a single staff that wasnt flashy at all. (Hind) Whats wrong, Hind-san?(Riizu) Ah, nothing. I was wondering(Hind) It was a staff that if it was going to be sold later on in the auction, it made me think that I would like to buy it. I shut my mouth and refrained from telling Riizu that. That sort of statement would be like an insult to Selene-san, who went through the trouble of looking after my staves. Its nothing. I was just thinking that everyone is trying too hard to get on the Queens good side. Not that Im one to talk though.(Hind) You are right. However, I think that those products will have a hard time selling in the auction.(Riizu) Aside from if it was a product that won the event, I think it will be hard for the other golden items that place below that(Hind) Golden and shiny pieces of gear, speaking quite frankly, are only for those with particularly unique tastes. Im not saying that no one will buy them, however, I dont believe that demand is that high. On top of that, you are not able to melt the gear in this game after all Lets start then! 10th place in the last division, Gear?Weapons(Queen) Along with those words, the Queen took out a weapon. We were slowly going through the ranks and unlike us, Selene-san didnt show any signs of getting impatient. She just stood still in her praying posture. Everyone understands. Selene-san was only aiming for 1st placein fact, you could say she had no intention of having her name called until we reached that spot. In 4th place Dont say her name yet, while sending prayers with the opposite meaning of what weve done until now, we looked towards the screen. In 4th place, there was a Marduck made, Thunder and Flame Gauntlets. The left one was of fire element and the right one of light element, furthermore, it was possible to mix the elements, a weapon for martial artists. The higher ranks in weapons and gear category was filled with famous blacksmiths. In 3rd place 3rd place, Brandon made, Golden Warhammer. With a mixture of performance and fitting the Queens tastes, it was a weapon that showed flexibility in the way of thinking of the crafter compared to those master blacksmiths that took pride in their own work. Judging from its weight, this is probably made for a Heavy Warrior. The product in 2nd place is 2nd place, Masamune made, Unsigned Katana. I didnt see a single speck of waste in the crafting of this blade, it wasnt an elemental weapon like those in 3rd and 4th place, a single glance would make you think that it was just a plain katana. However, the Queen cut the iron plate that Miles was holding without any effort. Should we take it as if that sharpness goes beyond what could be expressed with words? The player called Masamune is the one that Tobi buys gear from through the trading BBS, in terms of making Japanese style equipment, there was no one that could compare to him. And the excellent product in 1st place isthis one! The staff that the Queen held in her hands. I unconsciously raised my voice once I saw it. It was the staff I couldnt take my eyes off back when they showed all the items at the same time. And Selene-san wasnt moving at allit was hard to infer if this was her product or not considering that reaction of hers. If I were to be honest, the one that made this weapon had about the same skill level as the ones from 2nd to 4th place! I can say with certainty that it was splendidly made!(Queen) The Queen then started spinning the staff around, and the projection showed the staff from different angles so that the players could see it clearly. Hearing that it was of the same level as the other master blacksmiths, Selene-sans shoulders trembled. The patterns and decorations in the staff were carefully carved and conservative, I could feel that it was similar to a certain persons personality. The anxiety of not believing in oneself and the expectations of the person were mixed in there, it was a feeling I couldnt shake off. At the tip of this staff is(Queen) Hearing the Queens words, we looked towards the pointed end of the staff and what awaited us there was not the usual gem. Staff type weapons have a gem encrusted at the tip of one end in order to assist with the users magic. Which means that this staff is incomplete. Taking Selene-san into consideration, no one was saying anything, but it was obvious that everyone was wondering about that. Most likely, the same goes for all the other players watching this. I took this empty space as a statement telling me that A Noblis Carbuncle should be placed here. To be so bold and daring as to send in an incomplete productI really liked that! The name of the crafter that made this staff that took 1st place is(Queen) While swallowing our saliva, our gazes were concentrated on the screen. After a long long time, the Queen took a breath and her glossy lips slowly opened. The name is Selene! The name of the staff is Supporter Staff!(Queen) At that moment, the lounge room erupted with cries of joy. While sending words of praise towards Selene-san, everyone stood up from their seats in unison. Uwoooooooooooo!! Secchan! Secchaaaaaan!!(Yumir) You did it! You did it Selene-donoooo!!(Tobi) Congratulations, Selene-senpai!(Lyco and Sai) Congratulations.(Siesta) Well done, Secchan. As expected of you.(Riizu) You did it, Selene-san! Selene-san?(Hind) Selene-san was frozen in place watching the screen. She didnt react even if you waved your hand in front of her eyes, that didnt change even if you tried shaking her shoulders. D-Dont tell me S-She fainted(Hind) Secchan, get a grip! Return to your senses!(Yumir) Projected in front of Selene-sans eyes, who had fainted from being too happy, was the Queen inserting a Noblis Carbuncle, which was the prize for getting 1st place, on top of the staff and then using the staff to release light magic towards the screen. Following that, the results for all divisions appeared on the screen marking the end of the item contest event. Chapter 125 The Queen finished giving her congratulations and the image in the projection was cut off. The items exhibited were returned to the players and the auction would open 24 hours from now. People were free to bid during the 24 hour period of the auction and you were free to set a price for the items. The results of the auction will be announced two days from now right?(Hind) For those that want to bid for the most popular items, theyll need to stay online the day after tomorrow around this time.(Tobi) In those cases, you just have to bid an overwhelming amount of money! Just bid an amount that is two digits higher than the rest!(Yumir) You sure are crude as always, thatthat would only work if you actually had such an amount of money right?(Riizu) While we were having that kind of conversation, the members of Baby Bird looked awfully sleepy. Its quite late for a middle schooler after allseems like they missed their chance to leave, so lets have them log out first. Cineraria-chan, who is the one going to exhibit the pillow in the auction?(Hind) Ah, yes! We used my name in the contest, so Ill just exhibit it under my name.(Cineraria) In that case, Lycoris-chan, think about a comment for when you are going to put up the pillow in the auction. As for Siesta-chansince it seems like shes at her limit, lets leave her alone.(Hind) Yeees, Understoood(Lycoris) (Siesta) I guess they were really sleepy, Cineraria-chans reaction was quite sluggish. Lycoris-chans reaction was also slow and Siesta-chan already had her face on top of the table and wasnt moving. I gave them instructions and quickly finished the procedures to put up the item in the auction and shook the unmoving Siesta-chan to wake her up. Somehow, all three of them managed to stand up from their seats and prepared to leave. Well then, senpais. Well excuse ourselves first. Good night.(Cineraria) Good night.(Hind and co) With Cineraria-chan acting as the representative and saying good night, she logged out along with the other two, who were wearing sleepy expressions. Next up, its our turn. Lets start with Yumir. Yumir, what are you going to do with your Adenium?(Hind) Muu, since its just a decorative item with no real uselets just use it to decorate the house without exhibiting it?(Yumir) Got it, lets do that. In that case, lets set it in this lounge.(Hind) We decided to set the seven color Adenium in the lounge for people to appreciate. Its hard to guess if people would buy it, so I think that its the correct decision. We planned to sell the kunais from the start butwhat sort of comment are going to write?(Tobi) Wouldnt it be fine to just specify the amount inside? If we exhibit the boxes itll just come out as Set of Kunais x3 after all.(Hind) Lets leave it at that then. Lets split the earnings in half.(Tobi) OK, Ill leave it to you.(Hind) Tobi put up the kunais in the auction under both of our names. If you sign up an item under multiple names the profits will be shared, like the name implies, once the item is sold and the money is sent to the player, itll be distributed evenly. In the contest it was set so that the Queen would announce the names, so we could only have one name in it, but since the auction works the same way as the trading BBS, you are able to set small details like this. So, Riizu. What about the Placebo Potion? Are you going to put it up?(Hind) When I asked her, she looked as if she was thinking about it a bit and then replied like this. Wed better not do it. I can only see people abusing it to PK in the future.(Riizu) True. Though the Queen seemed to have taken a liking to it, what if she personally asks for them?(Hind) That will depend on how much money shes willing to offer. Ill sell it to her for the highest price possible.(Riizu) Riizu-chan, you are making quite the scary face you know?(Selene) Ah, Selene-san.(Hind) She came back to her senses, huh? Selene-san, who was frozen in place on top of the chair, finally returned to normal. Having been told that she was making a scary face, Riizu murmured Is that so? and started to pat her face. If Yumir was the one that told her that, I believe she would have immediately snapped, but if its Selene-san telling her, shes still remained my meek little sister. Sorry for causing you guys an inconvenience(Selene) It was nothing, congratulations, Selene-san(Hind) Congratulations, Secchan!(Yumir) Everyone started to congratulate her again. Selene-san started to smile bashfully and in her hands was the Supporter Staff, now with the gem attached to it. That staff is so niceIve been drawn to it from the start. Though, I was not sure if it was made by Selene-san until her name was announced. Eh, Hind-kun. Can I talk to you for a moment?(Selene) What?(Hind) Nervously, Selene-san talked to me. From the way she was looking at me, it seems like she only wanted to talk to me We left cleaning up to the other members and moved towards the blacksmiths workshop. Please, accept thiush!(Selene) She fumbled itshe magnificently fumbled her wordson top of that, the person herself hasnt noticed it I think the proper course of action here is to not point it out. The moment we arrived at the blacksmiths workshop, Selene-san held out the staff she was holding with both hands towards me. The silver staff I received glowed with a lovely radiance, on one of its ends, a crimson gem splendidly stood out. This staff, for me? Thank youto tell you the truth, Im reaaaaaaaaaaaally happy!(Hind) Eh?(Selene) I told her that from the moment I saw this staff in the contest, Ive been charmed by it. When she heard that, Selene-san opened her eyes wide in surprise, then started smiling. I see. That sort of makes me happyI might be glad that I kept what I was going to exhibit a secret from everyone.(Selene) Like that, she joined her hands behind her back and seemed unable to calm down as she moved her body left and right. What with this embarrassing atmosphere I have to say something, is what I was thinking but I was unable to form anything inside my head. The feverish gaze coming from behind her glasses made me unable to think. Hind, I. Ive been having a lot of fun lately. Before, I just endured going to university alone, going to my part-time job, returning to my room and playing the games I liked and then sleepingit was a cycle like that. Its not like I hated that kind of lifestylethough honestly, it was a bit lonely. Even though I know it was my own fault that I was shutting myself inside my shell.(Selene) Even if it was an online game, I would still play alone, she gave a self-deprecating smile. I stopped myself from saying anything and just focused on listening to what she had to say. Hind-kun, you took me out of that Altrowa Village blacksmiths workshop, which had lost its popularity, thenyou introduced me to Yumir-san, Riizu-chan, Tobi-kunall these people Ive had fun with. Lately, Ive even gotten to know someone I could consider my little sister and its been getting even more lively, right? Did you know? Cineraria-chan, she sometimes comes to visit me and asks me to teach her.(Selene) I didnt know about that. I saw both of them talking, but I didnt think that they had gotten along so well. Now, even at university, Ive been able to make a few friends. Even with people I meet for the first timeI might not be able to talk to them first, but Ive become able to at least reply to themeven if I fumble my words doing it. Everything, everything is thanks to Hind-kun, you know? Im really grateful.(Selene) Thats not the case. Its because Selene-san has worked hard to fix her fear of strangers. Even if I really did something, it would only amount to creating the first chance for you to do so.(Hind) Towards my words, Selene-san started to shake her head to deny them. I think Ive said this before, for someone like me, just taking that first step is a big hurdle. Just by losing my confidence once, I can feel my heart and body becoming heavier and heavier. My legs freeze in place and feel like leadin the worst case scenario, there are times when I even have a hard time getting out of my room and meeting my family.(Selene) Im sorry, Selene-san hung her head and apologized for having this sort of conversation. However, I felt happy. Its true that the contents of the conversation were gloomy, however, the expression on her face as she confided in me about these topicsI felt brightness from it as if a weight had been removed from her body. Just the simple fact of playing together, an act that didnt feel really important at a first glance. Just because of that simple fact, it was possible to bring salvation to the heart of someone. Its things like this that makes me think that the power of games is amazing. Thats why, I put all my feelings of gratitude towards Hind-kun in this staff. Im sorry, rather than feelings, they might be the weight of my feelings(Selene) No no, Selene-san. I dont think you are supposed to say it like that with that timing?(Hind) Having such a serious conversation just to have her make a pun at the end, I didnt think it would turn out like that. We both made a wry smile at the fact. Within the atmosphere that had become way more relaxed quite suddenly, I thought that the conversation had already ended when- I like Hind-kun.(Selene) Due to the words that casually spilled from her mouth, my body suddenly stiffened. Chapter 126 Hi there, Back with another chapter, nothing much to say other than it progressed the way youd expect it to happen with this kind of series. Anyway, 4 chapters left to close this arc and then well enter the arc for the next event. Enjoy the chapter. My mind was in chaos and I was unable to think properly, even then, I was about to open my mouth to gave an answer to her sincere feelings when- Wait! Wait a moment, Hind-kun!(Selene) !?(Hind) Just at that moment, a restless Selene-san frantically stopped me. She interrupted me while flailing her arms around. Steam poured from the face that looked completely calm when she told me she liked me as if she was boiling. Listen to what I have to say for a bit longer without saying anything! Please!(Selene) Understood.(Hind) Since she prevented me from saying anything, I could only stay silent. Selene-san placed her hand on her chest and took a deep breath a few times, then continued talking with a flushed face. Hind-kun, first off(Selene) Yes.(Hind) Right now, todays work hard gauge is already at 0 points.(Selene) Huh? Ahr-right.(Hind) Whats a work hard gauge? Is what I was thinking, but she managed to convey that it meant something like her emotional limits. In return, seeing how Selene-san was even more flustered than me, I started to gradually calm down. Then, she continued speaking. That being said, I said that I l-like you, but I dont have the energy say anything after the reply that comes after that(Selene) I-I see(Hind) Thats why, refrain from answering nowuntil I prepare myself to listen to itplease(Selene) This is quite the messy confession However, I think Im not really one to talk. After all, the relationship the three of us have, is one where we just keep delaying the answer and settling on a position we are comfortable in. As I said that, a streak of sweat ran through Selene-sans cheek. But Hind-kun, thats because you realized, right? That if you were to choose one, the relationship that you have right now would crumble.(Selene) Well, I thought that there was a possibility that, that sort of thing would happen but(Hind) Even at the university I go to right now, theres been multiple circles that have been destroyed due to issues with personal relationships(Selene) Thats quite the unpleasant example!(Hind) I can actually vividly picture it. It sounds like something that could happen to our guild so it gives me a bad feeling. I, obviously I llike Hind-kun the most! But I also like everyone in this guild. I feel bad for forcing this butif its OK with you, I would like things to stay the same for now. No matter what sort of answer you have in mind, lets keep things like they currently are.(Selene) Understood. At the very least, Ill gladly accept Selene-sans feelings.(Hind) She doesnt need an answer, huh My mind is sort of relieved but also feeling a bit disappointed. I know all I do is apologize butsorry about this. One sidedly conveying my feelings while not letting the other party even say anythingits cowardly and unfair right?(Selene) Well, its true that it gives me this feeling of having left something unfinished butme and Tobi, we both like the current situation where all five of us are playing together, its the same feeling. Im a coward that doesnt move forward. Like this, if both of them were taken away from me by someone else, I wouldnt be able to say anything to complain about it(Hind) Isnt it the opposite? I think that Hind-kun would eventually be snatched away by someone. Both of them are stubborn and simple minded. They clearly convey that Hind-kun is an irreplaceable existence to them. Thats why, no matter how strong their feelings become, they still remain prudent and shy. The same goes for me.(Selene) I guess those are the advantages of being born a manwait, am I the one going to be snatched away!? Eh(Hind) Isnt it usually the other way around? Even though Im a man She even said being snatched away by someone, am I like some sort of princess? I imagined myself wearing a dress and felt like puking. Thats gross. I brushed off the image that formed in my mind, calmed down and looked at Selene-san. At the end of the day, I have no idea whats even good about a guy like me Ehwelcome to this distorted circle. I dont know what lies ahead of us, but lets have fun on our way.(Hind) Yes, thanks for letting me in. While we are at it, its fine if youjust take all of us and look after us three, you know?(Selene) Please, dont say something that sounds straight of my moms mouth(Hind) Ah, is that so? Hind-kuns mother, shes quite unique.(Selene) Since we were cowards, we ended up delaying the situation. After that, I equipped the First rate Supporter Staff +7 I received from Selene-san and received an explanation about it. The staffs performance was wonderful, it goes without saying that my magic attack had drastically increased, but the Noblis Carbuncleadded a casting time -3% on top of it as a bonus. It felt nice in my hands and most importantly, I really loved the ornaments and the vibes the staff gave. You could say I look quite plain if I were to stand next to Yumir, but thats exactly why I praised Selene-san to the heavens. Because of that, she ended up red up to her ears and proceeded to curl herself up Once she calmed down, we returned to the lounge room. After having finished tidying the place up, the three of them were talking about the contest. I think its about time, this should be all for tonight? Since they asked me what we were talking about in the blacksmiths workshop, I told them how I received the staff from Selene-san. Tobi only looked at me while groaning with envy but Yumir and Riizu exchanged glances and for some reason, they nodded at each other without saying a word. Whats going on? Yumir, is it fine for us to disband for the day?(Hind) Yeah, thats fine. That only goes for the guys though.(Yumir) What do you mean by that, Yumir-dono?(Tobi) Yumir didnt even reply to Tobi-s question and beckoned Selene-san. Having guessed what she meant, Selene-san, who was standing next to me, slowly moved towards her. Like that, Rizu and Yumir pulled their faces closer to her and they started whispering something in a tone we couldnt hear That being said, we are going to have some secret girls talk! The guys should go away!(Yumir) Its the first Migratory Birds girls-only meeting. Dont mind us.(Riizu) Y-You two, since thats the caseHind-kun, Ill be fine. So(Selene) From my worried expression, she guessed what I was thinking and she said that while wearing a troubled smile. Seeing that exchange, an evil smile surfaced in Tobi-s face and he started to hit me with a hand. HahaI see, so its like that. Hind-dono, for the time being, lets leave this place.(Tobi) Wait, wait a moment! Stop, dont drag me! Ill walk by myself!(Hind) Tobi forcibly grabbed me by the arm and we exited the lounge room. Those girls, they are really sharp. Various thoughts were going through my mind, like if Selene-san was going to be fine Once we entered one of the private rooms in the guild home, Tobi sat down comfortably on top of the item box and addressed me. Whoa, Hind-dono, you have become quite popular lately. The personal relationships within our guild are in complete chaos.Hihihi.(Tobi) You sure are quite the considerate guy. That being said, acting as if this was just someone elses problem and enjoying the situationarent you the one that always goes around saying he wants a girlfriend? As a guy, dont you feel frustrated when you are the only one thats left out?(Hind) Towards my words, Tobi just shrugged his shoulders in an exaggerated manner. For some reason, I get the feeling that its really irritating when hes the one doing such an actionmakes me want to just grab his head in an iron grip without any warning. Hmm, but if we are talking about those threeif we are speaking honestly, they are all a pain to deal with, so I dont feel envious at all! Especially Yumir-dono and Riizu-dono, they are so mean! Really really mean! Though if we are speaking about appearances alone, they are all really pretty!(Tobi) I see, maybe I should tell them(Hind) -!? Wait, theyll kill me! Theyll cut me in little pieces! I went too far, Im sorry! Ill apologize! Stop trying to open the menu window!!(Tobi) After that, while being curious about what was going on in the girls side There was nothing I could really do, I finished the procedure of putting up the Eishika Dressin the auction and logged out along with Tobi. Chapter 127 Hi there, long time no see. Ill preface this by giving an abridged version of why I havent released anything in a long time. Shortly after my last release, I lost all the data on my laptop due to a blue screen and nothing I did fixed it. I ended up having to wipe everything clean because even resetting it to factory settings and the like still gave me an error. Luckily, wiping everything clean fixed it. I lost everything including the progress on this chapter Im releasing now which was mostly done. I actually did start translating this chapter shortly after but I got stuck in a line that I wasnt really sure how to translate. I do my have my releases uploaded in my google drive but I only do so once the chapter is finished and I need to start editing and proofreading it. Then, life happened and I eventually forgot all about it, though I did think about coming back multiple times but never doing so in the end. Anyway, just today, I logged into the email I use for this blog and I noticed some messages from people asking me when a new chapter was coming out (although they were from quite some time ago and I just never realized they were there) so I decided to pick up my unfinished chapter and translate it. Like always, no idea when the next chapter will be released or even if it will at all but enjoy this new chapter for now. Hopefully well see each other soon enough. Hey. Wacchi(Shuuhei) What is it? Try to refrain from talking to me, Im working right now.(Wataru) Isnt it fine? Theres not that many customers right now. More importantly, after that, did Selene-dono contact you?(Shuuhei) Yeah. She mentioned something about some Ladies pact or the like? She told me that it was fine and I shouldnt worry.(Wataru) While cleaning the table where a customer sat down until a moment ago, I replied to Tobi, who was sitting down while drinking some coffee and checking his smartphone. I believe Selene-san explained it vaguely on purpose. Those two must have forbade her from saying anythingdoesnt seem like well get to know about the contents of that pact of theirs. I see, I guess its fine as long as they are not fighting. So, I was taking a look at the threads after the event ends like always.(Shuuhei) Oh. Was there anything unusual? Thank you for coming.(Wataru) Just when I was done wiping the table and placing a menu in the middle, a customer stood up to leave. The owner looked free at the time so he took care of the bill. While he was doing that, I cleaned and put the tableware on the table the customer that just left had sat down at. Huh, its about that time when the store is not busy Owner, do you mind if I go and take my break right now?(Wataru) Sure, go ahead. In a while, the regulars are going to start coming after all.(Shirou) Alright. Thank you very much.(Wataru) I took off my apron and sat down opposite Shuuhei. Todays is Mariko-sans day off. Seems like she had gone on a hot spring trip with some old friends. For some reason, I think that when you come here, the rest of the customers just disappear.(Wataru) Rude! I purposefully come here when I know that there will be less customers!(Shuuhei) Well, I knew that. It was just a joke.(Wataru) That side of you, Rise-chan definitely picked it up from youthese siblings(Shuuhei) I did some light stretching and drank the glass of water I brought in one go. I might be teasing him right now, but I really appreciate how he brings himself to come to the store on his day off. Even if what he orders is the cheapest coffee on the menu. I went to the kitchen for a moment and with the owners permission, I opened the fridge. I placed a slice of a cake on a plate and returned to Shuuheis table. Here you go.(Wataru) Whats this?(Shuuhei) Cheesecake, my treat.(Wataru) Are you serious!? Thanks, Wacchi!(Shuuhei) With a face filled with delight, Shuuhei immediately took a portion of the cheesecake with his fork. While he was doing that, I took out my smartphone and accessed the message board. So, what thread was it?(Wataru) Hmm? What do you mean?(Shuuhei) Its been a while since we started talking, so it seems like he forgot what he was going to say before. Cant be helped Look, werent you talking about some thread a while ago?(Wataru) Ah! Right right, there was some talk about us so I was going to mention it to you.(Shuuhei) Not only about Selene-san, who took 1st place?(Wataru) Nope. To begin with, Didnt you and Rise-chan also place really high in the rankings?(Shuuhei) Now that he mentions it, thats true. To begin with, I guess its sort of a miracle that everyone placed within the top 100. Following Shuuheis instructions, I scrolled to the thread he mentioned. Pro vsThread regarding the Item Contest 5Amateur This is a thread regarding the Item Contest event currently ongoing in TB. The sponsor is the Kingdom of Sala, Queen Patra will be the judge of the event. Ignore the trolls and be well mannered. The next thread will be made once we reach }}900 comments. 178Nameless KnightIDwSS7Z4y The first 1st place came out LMAO. Heck, what the hell is a plant made of gold LOL. 179Nameless MageIDfcrywT8 The Queen is so erotic 180Nameless Heavy WarriorIDVNxgBhe I take its one of those plant synthesis things. This is the plant with the same name as the Queen right? }}}Adenium. 181Nameless ArcherIDpMfrfLh Like the developers announcement said, its something to the liking of the Queen. 182Nameless MageIDnm6a8UB The person in 1st place, I investigated him a bit and found out that hes a floriculturist. Though its a mystery how the plant ended up turning into gold. 183Nameless MageIDmPW6h2N A floriculturist I wonder if its possible to use the knowledge of selective breeding from real life inside the game? 184Nameless Shinto PriestIDhcmWKCU To begin with, does a floriculturist even deal with selective breeding? It would be another thing if we talked about the farmer type that grows things that can be eaten butthat would be something you do in university? 185Nameless Light WarriorIDfRhAJHY I dont really get it, but this confirms that the person that took 1st place was a professional? 186Nameless ArcherIDpMfrfLh Well, we can definitely say that he had an advantage over people that didnt know anything about plants. Not like I know much about them either. 187Nameless KnightIDQkHZXAW Gununu 188Nameless ArcherIDk5DygA5 I really want a normal player to take 1st place. Hope that it does in the next category. While skimming through the comments, I kept scrolling down. Up to now, theres been no talk about us. 240Nameless Shinto PriestIDMfyttx6 My eyes!! My eyeeeeeees!!! 241Nameless MageIDfcrywT8 Its all white and I cant see anything LMAO. 242Nameless ArcherIDk5DygA5 Its suddenly all white, and all you can hear is the laughter from the Queen. 243Nameless Heavy WarriorIDyQuXQe2 This has to be what Albert felt when he got hit by Shining 244Nameless KnightIDU2Dtk8k True, this does feel terrible. Are you telling me to find my enemy only relying on sound? 245Nameless ArcherIDfZnJzjT If it worked on monsters, it would be a godly item}}}flash bomb. You could use it offensively or to run away. If that is not possible, it could also be used to run away from PK attacks. 246Nameless MageID3Tdez5T The problem would be the cost of the item. If it was cheap, it would be a highly effective all purpose item, Id definitely want some. 247Nameless Martial ArtistIDNHtkX5P I guess this one definitely doesnt have anything to do with being a professional right? 248Nameless Light WarriorIDCxud9tQ Probably not. Im not getting anything even if I try to search for the players name. 249Nameless ArcherIDfZnJzjT So this makes 1 normal player and 1 professional getting 1st place so far. I wonder what the count will be like at the end. 250Nameless KnightIDU2Dtk8k Personally, Id want more normal players to get 1st place than professionals. If real life skills were indispensable even inside a game, that would be kinda sad 251Nameless MageIDFsBiArz This is an issue that was brought up because technology in VR games has advanced so much. They take the form of a game, but they are currently going in a direction where realism takes precedence. 252Nameless Light WarriorIDCxud9tQ So, because of this tendency of wanting to make things more realistic I have something to say. Wouldnt it be fine if you just went to do that in real life?. Leaving aside fighting, Im talking more about the crafting side of MMORPGs. 253Nameless Heavy WarriorIDStQYGwc In some cases, you have to think that people might not be able to do those things in real life because of circumstances. Since I live in the city, I play fishing games from time to time you know? Those that are more realistic. 254Nameless Shinto PriestIDZU232nD Lets do it in TB}}}Fishing. 255Nameless Heavy WarriorIDStQYGwc @254 Fishing in TB is just too simple Its convenient how you can easily travel to the sea or mountain streams. 256Nameless ArcherIDwzYBwWz }}In some cases, you have to think that people might not be able to do those things in real life because of circumstances. In other words, a galge (abbreviated) 257Nameless KnightIDU2Dtk8k @256 You havent abbreviated anything LOL. Well, its true that even in VR romance games they are able to make 2D models that give the feeling of a 3D polygon character and feel real close to something youd find in real life. 258Nameless MageIDjpgUwXe @257 Teacher! Not like that, I believe that its sad if you reach the point where you start thinking about that kind of thing! 259Nameless ArcherIDwzYBwWz (;;)Its fine! My wife exists in the VR world! 260Nameless Martial ArtistIDNHtkX5P We are going off-topic here LOL. The main point was which one was better for TB right? 261Nameless Shinto PriestID82ArxmL Since magic exists in this world, making things really realistic is hard. On the other hand, if theres no realism, its rather boring. 262Nameless MageID5HGn8Jm So selfish LOL. 263Nameless Shinto PriestID82ArxmL Players are selfish by nature. In games where the game balance is really bad, they end up going out of service really fast. 264Nameless ArcherID3KBMRp9 You are making conclusions like that? I dont think its a good idea to think like that after only one event. 265Nameless Heavy WarriorID6VDQxrB @263 Its important to not get swept away by the vocal minority. 266Nameless KnightIDU2Dtk8k @265 Thats right. 267Nameless MageID5HGn8Jm Well, lets wait until the results are out. I dont really understand difficult topics butIm just happy after watching the Queens legs. 268Nameless Shinto PriestID82ArxmL @267 Isnt that fine? That sort of approach is way healthier than people like us, who take the game too seriously. 269Nameless Light WariorIDZLPV588 I took a screenshot of the Queen and when I went to check it in the folder, it was all blurry because it was through that screen! I want to take one live! But Sala is too far. 270Nameless ArcherID3KBMRp9 @ 267-269 You guys sure are having fun I feel dumb for thinking too much about things LOL. As youd expect, its looping around the concept of Pros vs Amateurs. Is it further below?(Wataru) Just a bit further below. Lets skip until around the part where Rise-chans results were announced in the medicine sectionah, this cake is so tasty! (Shuuhei) Sure.(Wataru) Since it seems like customers are still not coming, lets take this moment to look at the part we are looking for. Chapter 128 Hi everyone, Was motivated enough to keep translating after last time so heres another chapter. Another thread chapter after this before we get back into in-game chapters. Enjoy and Ill see you next time. 315Nameless Shinto PriestIDpT2jeC8 10th place in the medicine category, Wet Compress, LOL. 316Nameless Light WarriorIDisWngkC That old man Arbols HP is slowly going up, so its a healing over time item huh 317Nameless Heavy WarriorID6VDQxrB So, you have to wear it before the battle starts? 318Nameless MageIDKmfjg6p Just when I was thinking who it was, the exhibitor is Philia-chan. 319Nameless KnightIDwSS7Z4y Who? 320Nameless MageIDKmfjg6p That one, Alberts daughter. Didnt they reach the finals in the last tournament? 321Nameless KnightIDwSS7Z4y Ah, the impression that old man Albert left was too strong LOL. I get the feeling that there was a cute kid with himhmm? Daughter? They are parent and child? 322Nameless MageIDKmfjg6p Yeah, they are parent and child. 323Nameless KnightIDwSS7Z4y They dont look alike at all LMAO. How do you get such a beautiful girl from such a mass of muscles 324Nameless Shinto PriestIDhcmWKCU Theres no doubt that the wife is beautiful. That damn machoIm so jealous. 325Nameless ArcherIDmiYJXU5 Playing a game together with your own daughter is such a dream come true. Lately, my own daughter doesnt even listen to me. 326Nameless Heavy WarriorIDisWngkC @325 Daddy, you stink! 327Nameless Light WarriorID3BFUY5w @325 Mom, I told you I didnt want my laundry to be washed together with dads! 328Nameless Martial ArtistIDNHtkX5P @325 Dad, youll go in the bath last! 329Nameless Shinto PriestIDpT2jeC8 Stop it! 325s life points are already at 0! 330Nameless ArcherIDmiYJXU5 (;;)I have already been told all those three 331Nameless KnightIDU2Dtk8k @330 Take better care of that old mans smell, dad 332Nameless MageIDjfMFYZB Real talk, studies show that as living beings mature, they start to dislike their fathers smell. This is a genetic issue. So if you start taking care of your own smell, it might lead her to treat you better. I guess I should work on that. 333Nameless ArcherIDmiYJXU5 (??)I heard something good! Ill do my best! 334Nameless ArcherIDwzYBwWz Do your best, just when we were talking about that, there seems to be something weird going on in the stream 335Nameless KnightIDU2Dtk8k 9th-6th place are fine. But 5th place is 336Nameless MageIDGQn2b32 Whats this? An interrogation? Or maybe torture? LOL. 337Nameless Light WarriorID7dJNGxR An anaesthetic that only lets the parts from your neck and upwards move, what the hell is this On top of that, it looks exactly like a HP potion. This thing is not at the level of being simply underhanded! 338Nameless Heavy WarriorIDCzQfEbA Ah. 339Nameless Martial ArtistIDNHtkX5P The stream has been cut LMAO. 340Nameless Heavy WarriorIDVNxgBhe They even went as far as to cut the live-feeddid the developers not expect something like this to happen? 341Nameless KnightID65unsAh What were you planning to do with his teeth, your Majesty. LOL. Pull them out? Were you going to pull them out? LMAO. 342Nameless Shinto PriestID82ArxmL On top of that, this medicine, you can use it and cut off their arms in front of their eyes while they are not able to feel a thing. Its quite the superior torture medicine. 343Nameless Light WarriorIDisWngkC Dont go bringing up a disgusting way to use it LOL. Though its true that something like that is possible. 344Nameless MageID5HGn8Jm (((((((( bb))))))) 345Nameless Martial ArtistIDxFMzgRd In this game, its not possible to lose body parts. 346Nameless KnightIDQFrp6nx Ah, its back as if nothing happened. Where did that traitor go? LOL. 347Nameless Shinto PriestID82ArxmL Exhibitor Riizuwait, isnt she part of Hero-chans family? LOL At this point, they are already regulars in events. 348Nameless MageIDdzinQkG Just when I thought that the name sounded familiar, isnt she one of them? The ones that cleared the dungeon along with the True Self and Albert. 349Nameless Martial ArtistIDF2bPPkC Does this girl have a fetish thread 350Nameless KnightID8SS3mjM They havent made a guild with Albert right? 351Nameless ArcherIDRwRdTnx Dont think so? I heard that Albert hasnt joined any guild yet. 352Nameless Heavy WarriorIDMxDJsHs Riizu-chan! Riizu-chan! Use that anaesthetic on me and play with meeeeeeeee! 353Nameless Light WarriorIDhrLAfuM Eh 354Nameless Shinto PriestIDMfyttx6 @349 Because you went and mentioned fetish threads here, didnt you just summon a pervert over here? 355Nameless Martial ArtistIDF2bPPkC Its my fault? LOL 356Nameless ArcherIDBkVBi94 Against disgusting people like this one, you can go ahead and use this anaesthetic (Placebo potion?) and leave them there. 357Nameless Heavy WarriorIDMxDJsHs In other words, neglect playuhehehe(However, thats only if Riizu-chan is the one doing it). 358Nameless KnightIDj9jXt75 Disgusting, LOL. In a way, you could call a masochist an invincible life-form LOL. 359Nameless MageIDmPW6h2N I mean, no matter how badly you treat them, theyll just transform it into pleasureLOL. Oh, this thread has somehow turned quite bad. Though I think Rise would get angry if she heard about that Hero-chans Family name. (Wataru) Until now, there hasnt been an event that showed which guild you belonged to after all. If there was one, I think the name Migratory Bird would stick.(Shuuhei) Until this point it has been items, next are equipment. Ill scroll until the defensive gear part shows up. 468Nameless ArcherID3KBMRp9 It was already bad with accesories but even the top 100 in the defensive gear section is full of gold and flashy gear. 469Nameless Shinto PriestID82ArxmL On the contrary, it makes things that are different stand out even more. The obsidian necklace that won 3th place was simple and I liked it. 470Nameless Martial ArtistIDCid5Amr My golden plating was no good(??`) 471Nameless Heavy WarriorIDX6AdjXS Of course LOL. Why did you think that would work? 472Nameless Martial ArtistIDCid5Amr You cant really gather much gold in the Rust Kingdom after all This time around, people in the Beli confederation with its abundance of mines had an advantage right? 473Nameless MageIDKmfjg6p Rust has advantage when it comes to handicraft and medicine and it would have even been fine if you tried to win with a flower. I heard that the soil over there is very rich and plants grow really fast? 474Nameless Light WarriorIDfRhAJHY Its true that its mainly people from Beli that have submitted golden gear. Its sorta frustrating how they can easily get in the top rankings. 475Nameless Heavy WarriorIDX6AdjXS However, it was the same thing for accesories buttheres no golden gear in the top 5 this time either you know? 476Nameless KnightIDj9jXt75 I mean, even if the quality is good, theres no creativity behind them Even if it wasnt the Queen, I believe anyone would find them boringprobably. 477Nameless MageIDdFHrTjb Early on there were people that told us that the Queen liked golden and flashy things after all. Looking at the results, they were right. However, everyone went too far with it. 478Nameless ArcherIDRwRdTnx I get the feeling that a lot of them will remain unsold during the auction 479Nameless Heavy Warrior IDMPWNgjE Thats true LOL. What are they going to do? In TB, theres no way to dismantle and get the materials back. 480Nameless Shinto PriestIDSGCJufX Look, in 3th place theres one of those types of gear that shows the pride of the crafter you guys love so much. 481Nameless Light WarriorIDfRhAJHY I mean, I know that @480 is making fun of us but if its that good looking piece of black armor it would make me want to get it 482Nameless Shinto PriestIDbU3VPMS Its for males and set for a height of around 180cm huh Im a Heavy Warrior but Im not tall enough 483Nameless MageIDAZ5mbWT @482 Your name says you are a Shinto Priest though LOL. 484Nameless Shinto PriestIDbU3VPMS Ah 485Nameless Heavy WarriorIDMPWNgjE Its not like you have to be honest about it but@482 what you did is rather embarrassing. 486Nameless Martial ArtistIDujieEXb But this is the weakness of arranged equipment right? You are unable to change its size. Especially when it comes down to defensive gear, it seems like all the famous blacksmiths have submitted weapons. 487Nameless KnightIDj9jXt75 Maybe he aimed to submit armor from the start? Since all the famous blacksmiths made weapons. 488Nameless MageIDKmfjg6p I guess its better than making a weapon? Looking at the auction catalog, it seems like weapons are the most competitive section after all. 489Nameless Heavy WarriorIDdBG3tsU Brandon, Noh mask, Nukamiso, Selene, ?Leanan sdhe?, Marduk and even Masamune. Vales appeared in the defensive gear section just now. 490Nameless ArcherID2NQcRet They are all names that appear on the 1st page when you go to the trading board? 491Nameless Shinto PriestIDZU232nD Thats just insane. By the way, I submitted a golden scythe but 492Nameless MageIDAZ5mbWT Chin 493Nameless Heavy WarriorIDdBG3tsU Pray. 494Nameless Shinto PriestIDZU232nD Yeah, I know(??`) 495Nameless ArcherIDiPVNgfz Ah, 2nd place is a dress. Seems like its made from some textile that gives off a rare texture. Like I thought, its not good enough if its just golden. 496Nameless KnightIDU2Dtk8k Its pretty but its bright red and flashy. This is something that wouldnt suit you unless you were really pretty. 497Nameless Light WarriorIDffAuVTQ The one that submitted it is the True Self? What is he even doing? LMAO. 498Nameless Heavy WarriorIDpyUYY3M That Hi-something guy! 499Nameless MageID6GbTECP Not only cook but he can also sew huh 500Nameless ArcherIDzZrys6W Where did you hear he can cook? 501Nameless MageID6GbTECP True Self handed out some sweets during the tournament. He said that he made them himself and they were crazy good. 502Nameless KnightIDj9jXt75 You, you personally got some? LOL. 503Nameless MageID6GbTECP He wasnt really famous around that time after allI remembered later on! Or something like that. 504Nameless Light WarriorIDZLPV588 Its really the True Self!? In that case, have Hero-chan wear it and upload an image right now! Hurry up! 505Nameless Martial ArtistIDNMrTAWu Unfortunately, it doesnt seem like he plans to do that. Its an arranged version but it says that theres the option to adjust the size of it. 506Nameless KnightIDj9jXt75 So he made it in hopes of selling itdoesnt seem like its made for Hero-chan to wear. 507Nameless Heavy WarriorIDyQuXQe2 True Self, you suck. 508Nameless ArcherIDpMfrfLh You suck. 509Nameless MageID4rx4kec You really suck. Hero-chans figure wearing a dress 510Nameless Light WarriorIDn5EWHzF Even though he took 2nd place, everyone is saying the True Self sucks LMAO. 511Nameless Light WarriorIDisWngkC And 1st place was snatched by a pro designer. He sucks in a lot of ways Oh I said it wrong, he sucks. 512Nameless KnightIDj9jXt75 LMAO. 513Nameless MageIDKmfjg6p After coming this far, the last one had to be a golden dress huhhowever, its a gorgeous dress, theres no doubt that the Queen will use both. Gaaaaaaaah!! These guuuuuuys!(Wataru) Ahahahaha!!(Shuuhei) O-Ohwhat happened? Wataru.(Shirou) -Ah! Im sorry, owner. We were too loud right?(Wataru) Its not a problem when theres no customers around. However, try to be quiet when there are customers around, OK?(Shirou) Yes, Im very sorry(Wataru) Hearing the owners words I unconsciously bowed down and Tobi switched to laughing without producing any sound. This guy, I hope he didnt just want to only show this part to me Why by only not making Miyu wear the dress am I treated as if I was useless(Wataru) Kukukuah, I sure laughed a ton. Wacchi, you are making light of just how popular Miyucchi is. On top of that, you are making light of just how famous you are. Theres a fetish thread for you too, have you seen it?(Shuuhei) Who the hell would enter that kind of place on his own volition! I havent looked at it!(Wataru) Thought so~(Shuuhei) I dont want the owner to look at me all weird anymore so lets move forward, forward! I scrolled down until the part where they were covering the weapons section. Chapter 129 Hi there, Here you have another chapter. Got nothing else to say, enjoy. 651Nameless Martial ArtistIDNHtkX5P The top rankings are filled with the players that @489 mentioned 652Nameless Light WarriorIDbgtmtUN Its difficult to get in the top rankings with a weapon made half-heartedly 653Nameless MageIDEyg4WUD I was slightly hoping to get into the rankings, but it seems like it will be impossible 654Nameless ArcherIDYxGW4yw Seems like this category is full of players that started during the games launch. As youd expect, the metal and furnace with special characteristics are hard to use even for the pros. 655Nameless MageID5wHh3na Theres the possibility that there are pros mixed in there that just havent publicly stated that they are professionals. 656Nameless ArcherIDYxGW4yw Well get nowhere if we start going down that rabbit hole LOL. 657Nameless Shinto PriestID82ArxmL Just thinking about what price theyll have once they are displayed in the auction scares me. 658Nameless Heavy WarriorIDVNxgBhe For the players, the reward for the event might not even be anything worth mentioning. 659Nameless MageIDjfMFYZB You are right. Theres even enough disparity in the money players have because of the tournament event. 660Nameless ArcherIDEGiV5Ls Usually the high ranking crafters income will be different from other people after all 661Nameless KnightIDFgSga8e Its like a mini modern society in here! 662Nameless Martial Artist IDXeir35g By the way, what happens if you use weapons with different elements at the same time? Are they easy to use? 663Nameless Light WarriorIDisWngkC Nope, its hard. Light warriors can dual wield, but if your opponent was able to absorb one of the elements it would be disastrous. Though theres not many monsters that can do that as far as I know. 664Nameless Heavy WarriorIDnU8GVRH Youd leave yourself wide open if you tried to switch weapons mid-battle. Though theres some charm in wielding two blades with different elements to cover more options, dual wielding is a style that uses two blades to supplement their lack of firepower after all.. 665Nameless Martial Artist IDXeir35g So itd be bad if you were unable to use one of them suddenly 666Nameless Shinto PriestIDkwNtyGK More importantly, something like being able to use both fire and water elements at the same time just because its cool, isnt such a reason good enough!? 667Nameless ArcherIDEGiV5Ls Whatever you say, its not like itll change what weapons the experts make. 668Nameless Heavy WarriorIDnU8GVRH If you have a mage in your party, theres no need for an elemental weapon. In case you play solo, ideally youd want to have a weapon of every element. 669Nameless Light WarriorIDisWngkC Non elemental weapons are the safest choice, but go ahead if you like them? Something like that. 670Nameless Martial ArtistIDXeir35g Ah, but if you use these weapons at the same time they deal 1.2x elemental damage. Or so the Queen said. 671Nameless MageID5HGn8Jm !? 672Nameless Martial ArtistIDXeir35g Seems like its made from metal with high magic conductivity and the gemstones produce some kind of resonance. They are amazing, the blacksmiths at the top. 673Nameless Shinto PriestIDip8tXsc Patra-samas explanation is rather complicated butI guess its something like combining multiple special materials? 674Nameless Heavy WarriorIDisWngkC I cant understand a single thing 675Nameless ArcherID8TpMNf2 Obviously, they are made with their own special alloy. 676Nameless Shinto PriestIDZU232nD Even among blacksmiths, they all have their own special characteristics so its interesting. Like increasing its power the more its endurance is shaved off. 677Nameless KnightID7Q5D29S Even among those top class blacksmiths there are those that prefer stability. Personally, I would recommend Vales, Selene or Masamune. They are made with both power and endurance. 678Nameless Heavy WarriorIDfBkg2hn You are weird for even being able to use weapons made from those three LOL. 679Nameless KnightID7Q5D29S When it comes to Masamune, thats only my opinion looking at the numbers in the trading BBS. I dont use Japanese style equipment after all. 680Nameless MageIDsmyd4PD So, a golden hammer is in 3th place huh Even though its the same gold as the others, it feels rather different, I wonder why? 681Nameless MageID5HGn8Jm It seems to be a light element one. 682Nameless Martial ArtistIDZ8izJbt @680 Maybe its purely because of its performance? Even to our untrained eyes, its level of quality seems apparent from a single glance 683Nameless KnightIDfRK6NDY With perfect timing, something you can tell with a single glance has appeared. Like I thought, a simple katana looks so coolmaybe I should make my avatar look like a samurai 684Nameless Shinto PriestIDip8tXsc Isnt this a Tachi? 685Nameless Heavy WarriorIDnU8GVRH The blade is roughly 71.3cm long and the curvature is low so its not a Tachi but an Uchigatana. This curvature, The engravings on the blade, the radiance, I cant get enough of itslurp. 686Nameless Light WarriorIDx2GmPHs I-Its a pervert! 687Nameless ArcherIDsQ6id2a How do you even get such a correct estimate of its length just from looking at it LOL. However, being able to carve those inscriptions makes it so elegant. 688Nameless MageIDKmfjg6p Its about time for 1st place to be announced. Guess it wont be long until I say goodbye to all of you. 689Nameless ArcherIDteuAPwE I, if I win, Ill buy a horse and go see the Queen 690Nameless ArcherID3LU4ag8 @689 Ill make a salad and wait for you! 691Nameless KnightIDFgSga8e @689 Who was it? The one that left the steak half eaten and left their seat. 692Nameless MageID5HGn8Jm Did you make it!? 693Nameless Heavy WarriorIDfBkg2hn No he didnt. Rather, we could just look up which top ranked blacksmiths havent been called out by now 694Nameless MageIDsmyd4PD @693 Shhhhh! 695Nameless Shinto PriestIDpmgEGw2 It came out while you guys were being dumb, 1st place. As youd expect it was Selenewait, whats with this staff? 696Nameless Light WarriorID5bx38KP It feels rather lacking. 697Nameless MageIDsmyd4PD It doesnt have a gemstone, which is the most important part of a staff! 698Nameless Heavy WarriorIDisWngkC Why is this one in 1st place? 699Nameless Martial ArtistIDNHtkX5P No ideaguess well have to wait for the Queen to explain. 703Nameless Heavy WarriorIDisWngkC Ah, I see. Now that I think about it, the reward for this event was a gemstone. 704Nameless KnightIDxpht4MN Ooooh!! This is so cool!! Shes so bold! 705Nameless ArcherIDiPVNgfz Shes quite something for having thought of this. Exhibiting an incomplete weapon 706Nameless KnightIDQFrp6nx Uwahso its something like reading the Queens personality in order to win? I cant find any faults with this approach, amazing. 707Nameless MageIDb6CQCcz I should have submitted an incomplete weapon(??`). 708Nameless Light WarriorIDBhnWEVf Do you have the confidence that if you submitted an incomplete weapon the Queen would pay attention to it? 709Nameless MageIDb6CQCcz Not at all!(??) 710Nameless Shinto PriestID82ArxmL Then thats not good LMAO. So, the staff itself is neatthe carvings and decorations are beautiful, though its sorta plain. 711Nameless ArcherIDpMfrfLh Though I guess our senses might have dulled from seeing so many golden items. 712Nameless Shinto PriestID82ArxmL I get that LOL. But this staff is the type that has a beautiful flower blooming on one end right? I dont think it was made with its something that the Queen would have been interested in, its amazing how it took 1st place. 713Nameless Light Warrior IDisWngkC Like I thought, it was probably the challenge to put the gemstone on it that succeeded in picking up her attention. Obviously, its not like the staff itself is not well made. 714Nameless Heavy WarriorIDfBkg2hn If it went badly, there is the risk of it not even making it into the rankings, its quite the clever method. 715Nameless KnightIDwSS7Z4y @712 In terms of color, its silver after all. Personally, I prefer this type of weapon to the golden ones though LOL. 716Nameless Heavy WarriorIDt2cdzu5 For the time being, I dont want to see any goldI feel full just from looking at them. 717Nameless Martial ArtistIDeZ38kjn The impression the staff gives is kinda mismatched when you compare it to whats exhibited there. I cant really picture what kind of person Selene-san is. 718Nameless ArcherID8TpMNf2 Masamune in 2nd place is rather easy to understand, anyway, congratulations on 1st place. Congratulations to those that placed high in the other categories, since I didnt even make it into the rankings, Ill just quietly leave 719Nameless MageIDsmyd4PD Good work. Theres no need to make another thread right? 720Nameless Heavy WarriorIDfBkg2hn Probably not? If we get close to 900 comments, someone else will do it. 721Nameless KnightIDQFrp6nx Ill come back after taking a look at the other threads, leave it to me. 722Nameless Heavy WarriorIDfBkg2hn @721 Counting on you. 723Nameless MageID5L4CcB7 This presentation left quite the big impactah, the Queen is using the staff. 724Nameless Shinto PriestIDZU232nD As expected, the staff kinda doesnt suit the Queen. However, looking at the finished product, I cant voice any complaints. ( bթb)Want it 725Nameless MageIDsmyd4PD Even if it appears in the auction I have no intention to buy it LOL. Its definitely going to be expensive Yup, seeing the reactions from other people againas expected, Selene-san is amazing. She did well to place 1st in such a competitive event.(Wataru) You said it. It was the same with the 1st event, if she wasnt there, we normally wouldnt have been able to be in the event rankings.(Shuuhei) Shes been helping us since that time with the greatsword after all. Even in the tournament, if she wasnt there, it would have been highly likely that we didnt advance through the preliminaries.(Wataru) Bringin Selene-dono along is probably the best thing Wacchi has done in TB? Im looking forward to the next event.(Shuuhei) Since this time it was a crafting event, Im expecting the next one to not be a fighting event but a gathering event. But, tomorrow is the deadline for auction bidding. That being said, seeing Selene-dono being so daring or provocative was quite interesting considering shes usually not like that.(Shuuhei) I dont think so? The fact that she submitted an incomplete staff was her probably her plan to make the Queen want to see more considering she made it without taking into account her tasteseven if shes like that usually, I think shes the type that does her best when shes motivated so I dont believe it was out of character.(Wataru) Shes the type that becomes really strong once she puts her mind into it, or at least thats what I personally feel after spending time with her. Though the preparations she needs to make to reach that point probably take much longer compared to other people. However, having heard that, Shuuhei was looking at me while smirking for some reason. Its unpleasant. Hahan?(Shuuhei) What is it?(Wataru) Well, I was thinking that words coming from a guy that was confessed to by an introverted girl have much more meaning. You sure know her much better compared to me! As expected of you!(Shuuhei) You(Wataru) Even though he was just guessing, to think that he got that right While grinding my right hand I slowly approached Shuuheis head with it. Ill make him eat this Iron Claw that I held back from doing yesterday. Hiii! Wacchi time out! What was your grip strength again!?(Shuuhei) 80Kg.(Wataru) Gyaaaaa! Thats not the grip strength from someone in the cooking club!(Shuuhei) Well, that was just a lie to intimidate him. By the way, it seems like 80kg is round the grip strength youd need to crush an apple with one hand. I should be considered average. Dont be so noisy. The owner will scold us.(Wataru) Like that, just as my hand was going to reach Shuuheis head*kalan* *kalan*, the bell on the door rang. TskI was going to stop anyway but I wanted to keep at it for a bit longer. This guy is so lucky. Welcome.(Wataru) I-Im saved.(Shuuhei) Since it seems like a group of female tourists came, I reluctantly lowered my hand and put on the apron. Leaving behind Shuuhei, who placed a hand on his chest, I headed towards the entrance to serve the customers Chapter 130 Hi Back with another chapter. This one marks the end of the current arc and we are moving on to the next one. Next one will be a real life chapter and well have a surprise guest so look forward to that. Actually, I have the next one already translated but I guess Ill release it tomorrow to give myself some leeway in case my motivation drops a bit. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and Ill see you tomorrow. Eveningeh? Only Selene-san is here?(Hind) Ah, H-Hind-kun! G-G-Good evening!(Selene) Good evening.(Hind) Once I entered the lounge, I saw Selene-san with her menu window open looking at the items in the auction. Though, once she looked at me, her eyes were wandering around and she looked as if couldnt calm down. Seeing that, I went to make herbal tea for both of us and sat down after placing the cups on the table. Once I sat down in front of her, Selene-sans shoulders trembled and she looked downwards. This, this seems like the pattern of someone feeling embarrassed after realizing what she had doneor something like that? T-Th-Thank you!(Selene) Selene-san, you are too stiff. Though I guess I shouldnt be saying that since Im the source of the issue(Hind) Y-Yeah.(Selene) Itll be hard on your body if you are so tense, so lets try to relax a bit. Deep breaths, deep breaths.(Hind) *breath in* *breath out* Selene-san obeyed my words and did what I told her. After that, she drank all the herbal tea in one go and looked as if she had calmed down, but this time she looked at me as if she was sad and sulking. Unconsciously, I found her sullen look quite cute and my heart started beating faster. However, it didnt show in my face. Hind-kun, you dont really act any differently from before.(Selene) What? Ah, you mean that.(Hind) So this is what shes trying to say. Even though Im this nervous, what happened the day before yesterday meant so little to you? Or something like that Dont I have any other choice but to say it? Even though its embarrassing. However, Selene-san looks so sad and hurtI guess theres no choice. You seethis is just me hiding my embarrassment. In my own way.(Hind) What do you mean?(Selene) Im just looking calm on the surface. I dont think Im feeling much different from what you are feeling deep inside. My face is all hot and my heart looks as if its going to jump out.(Hind) I cant see that at all though(Selene) I havent said a single lie though. If I dont reveal more of my inner thoughts it doesnt seem like shell believe me While scratching my face, I revealed the embarrassed state I was in last night. Im serious. The day before yesterday, I didnt know what to do after that happened and I repeated that scene where you told me you liked me over and over in my head, I was wide awake and couldnt get any sleep. It was the same as whenthat time, ehyou did that to my cheek. Thanks to that, I nearly arrived late to my part-time job.(Hind) Eh? T-That means-(Selene) -I mean, I got confessed by this beautiful and intellectual looking older girl you know!? Even if we didnt become lovers. Theres no way a guy wouldnt be happy! If there was, it would be some kind of scarecrow with the shape of a guy.(Hind) Ah, uuuu.(Selene) Halfway through I was just becoming rather desperate. I get the feeling that I said some things that didnt need to have been said though, my thoughts that were accompanied by heat and vigor couldnt be stopped anymore. I havent said enough!? You dont need to hide behind unfashionable glasses or unkept hair! You have nice eyes and a small but attractive face, your skin is lovely and theres a nice fragrance whenever I come close to you! You are very knowledgeable and even if I talk about boring stuff you properly listen to me and you are kind! Even today before I logged in, I took a long time to calm myself down and prepar-(Hind) H-Hind-kun, I get itI get it sono moregusu(Selene) Huh!?(Hind) When I came to, Selene-sans whole body was so red that steam was pouring from it and she was looking at me with moist eyes. II went too far Sorry for not believing youI was happy, but I was too surprised that tears(Selene) If possible, I kinda wish you noticed how much I was enduring it a bit sooner.(Hind) Yeah, sorry(Selene) It didnt really go the way I wanted it to, but we somehow reached an understanding. I definitely wasnt making light of Selene-sans confession, I just thought that moving forward it was best to try to act as normal as possible. As a result, it brought up this kind of situation. I cant remember most of the things I said butthe me from a moment ago, wasnt I being kinda disgusting? Anyway, what I wanted to say was-(Hind) Its fineI already get it. Since you cant reply to the other persons feelingsno, thats not it. Since we are preventing ourselves from responding to them, trying to not show it on the surface is proof of Hind-sans sincerity right?(Selene) (Hind) Hearing those words coming from her, I could neither agree to or deny them. Regarding this topic, I couldnt really call what I was doing sincere after all. However, Selene-san reached an understanding and was smiling, then she looked at me and nodded. After that, the same way as beforeor rather, with a slightly closer distance than before, we started to talk about the auction while waiting for the other members. Around ten minutes later, the door was opened in a rude and vigorous manner. I have arrived!(Yumir) Oh, you are here. I guess with this everyones here.(Hind) Good evening, Yumir-san.(Selene) While ending in an incomprehensible pose, Yumir stood still at the spot after entering through the door. With this, theres me, Selene-san and Yumir who just came through the door. Muh? What about the girls from Baby Bird?(Yumir) Seems like they have a trip tomorrow. Since they have to go early in the morning they wont be coming today.(Hind) What about Riizu?(Yumir) The results from the practice test she took came back, she only got one question wrong butshe holed herself up in her room and is studying.(Hind) Revengenot that, so shes reviewing, I see. Since you said she got one question wrong that means that the rest(Yumir) Perfect score.(Hind) Keh.(Yumir) I guess I didnt even need to ask, Yumirs expression seemed to say that. Then, she started to look around the room and opened her mouth to ask about the last member that hasnt been mentioned yet. Then, what about Tobi?(Yumir) Ah, if its that guy(Hind) Reacting to Yumirs words, I made a fist and raised it towards the ceiling. Once I did, the portion of the ceiling I hit with my fist flipped over, once it did a full rotation, it spit out a black object. Immediately after it landed, I took an insecticide and sprayed it as if it was a bug and said object groaned with a Gueh! as it fell on the floor. Hes here!(Hind) If you noticed, just call out to me normally!(Tobi) I mean, there was an icon coming from the ceilinghiding wouldnt work.(Selene) Selene-dono also noticed!? Furthermore, theres that unexpected weak point!(Tobi) That kind of thing, it would be fixed if you made it so it doesnt display in your settings. You idiot.(Yumir) Even Yumir-dono!? Guohhh(Tobi) Hearing those words coming from Yumir, who he thought had the same level of intelligence as him, Tobi took a big hit. This guy stayed there in the ceiling for around three minutes before Yumir arrived, right? I noticed right away but he was so poorly hidden that I decided to just leave him be. To think he was seriously trying to stay hidden. Like this, its kinda hard to call him a ninja Then, the deadline for the bidding period of the auction was approaching. The kunai sets starting bidding price was 10k G, though the buyout price was 700k G Seems like it was bought yesterday, surprisingly the buyer was Masamune. He was the Japanese-style blacksmith that placed 2nd in the weapon section. Tobi, since this is a good opportunity, try to contact him if the opportunity arises. If we are lucky, you might get a reply.(Hind) Seems like he has it set so he can receive emailsIll give it a try.(Tobi) As expected, he seems to be really fond of Japanese style items.(Hind) That katana was also extremely sharp, I wonder what kind of player he is?(Selene) Selene-san seems like shes really bad at making Japanese style things, so even to this day, Tobi buys his equipment in the trading BBS. There are some items mixed among those that I made myself, but as youd expect, compared to what people like Selene-san make they are inferior. If we think about increasing our guilds fighting power, it would be best if we had Masamune make Tobis equipment. After that, each one of us started bidding on items that interested each other. Though, among the members here right now, Im the only one thats submitting something. My Eishika Dress Just before the auction ended, we stared at the window where the biddings appeared. Geh, arent these columns weird? Hind(Yumir) Theres seven columns. The number of bidders is also about threeare you serious?(Hind) Its really popular among Mages and Shinto Priests. If I remember correctly, it increases your magic power by a lot?(Tobi) It was 10% right? If we are talking about support effects on defensive gear, its rather extraordinary right?(Selene) If I had to say, its the cloth thats amazing. The Eishika cloth that is. The price of the material is high, seems like the starting price was 500k G(Hind) That amount is over ten times higher already surpassing 5 million G and it keeps going up. By the way, regarding the average amount of money players have, I heard that it seems to be in the 1-2million range. In other words, if Mages and Shinto Priests are still bidding at this point, it has to be those high rank players that want to increase their strength even if its only by a bit. Then, ten seconds before the auction was overa bidder that bid 20 million G, an amount that would make your eyeballs jump out appeared. In a panic, I looked at the name of the bidder and the name Herrschaft was displayed You are the one buying it!? Selene-san aside, all three of us shouted. As youd expect, the bidders that until now kept bidding and were bidding in the close to 6 million range stoppedlike that, Herscha won the bid for the Eishika Dress with her overwhelming financial prowess. Chapter 131 Hi there Since I have made really good progress today heres a double release. I believe I should still be on track to release another chapter tomorrow. Anyway, you probably guessed who the new characters that are going to appear in real life right? Enjoy. A certain public holiday in the afternoon. Today I had a day off from my part-time job, so I went to the neighboring town one stop away by train to an appointment in the shopping mall. I sat down on a bench in the plaza inside the station and waited while playing around with my phone. The person I had an appointment with was Master!(Walter) (Wataru) Uwah, I dont want to reply. I dont really care in-game, but being called Master in the middle of town is quite painful and embarrassing. Why do you think I went as far as to tell him my real name last night? The one who was waving his hand and heading towards me was a young boy that youd mistake for a young girl. White legs stretching from under his shorts and his hair was dazzling under the sunlight. Wait, whats with that androgynous fashion styleare you doing it on purpose? Or are you just an airhead?(Wataru) Master?(Walter) Hmm? Ah, my bad. I guess in this caseI should say nice to meet you? Tsukasa-kun.(Wataru) I dont want that, Master. Refer to me the same you do in-game.(Tsukasa) In that case, stop with the Master. If you call me in a normal way Ill consider doing that.(Wataru) !?(Tsukasa) Why do you look as if the world is going to end from just that, I cant begin to understand him. Shewait, wrong. The one that goes by the name Walter in-game, Yanase Tsukasa looked no different from his avatar in-game. In terms of age, hes a year below me, hes in the same school year as Rise. Even as a guy, he had shoulder length silky hair, a slim body and even the clothes he wore were rather feminine Why, Masteram I not good enough to be your disciple? Even though I idolize you this much(Tsukasa) Ugh, looking at me with those eyes that look as if hes going to cry and that voice The people around us glared and pierced me with their gazes. It was really uncomfortable. It might be that they think Im some piece of trash that has made a girl cry. This person is a guy though In that case its fineyou can call me Master(Wataru) Yes, Master!(Tsukasa) I dont know what to buy for ojou-samas birthday present. I received an email with those contents a few days ago. After going back and forth, we decided to go and choose a present together. WalterTsukasas and his ojou-samas residence, while not exactly close, was about one prefecture away from the looks of it. While not a distance you could travel whenever you want, it wasnt a distance that was impossible to travel either, so we each took the train and met up like this. The truth is, when we decided about this I went and invited Shuuhei but Guhah! My old wounds are aching(Shuuhei) He said those types of words that came straight out from someone with chuunibyou so it was only me here today. It seems like he is still shocked from the events of that time. If we thought about other acquaintances I had there was Miyu, but since she has never talked to Walter directly, I didnt invite her. Honestly, since it was a present for a girl, I wanted to bring a female acquaintance with me if possible butseems like that was not happening. However, even after meeting him in person, unexpectedly, I dont really feel any sort of excitement from it. I guess this is what happens when your avatar is using your real self as a basis. If we were speaking about offline meetings, you could frequently see people lying about their gender. Or maybe they look really different from what you imagined and maybe you cant even get along with them the same way you do in-game. Or maybe on the contrary, the opposite happens and its a good thing. Im not from that generation so its only stuff I heard about but it gives me some mixed feelings. So, have you any ideas about what kind of present you want? Like I thought, you probably have some kind of idea already right?(Wataru) Yes, I think that an accessory would be good.(Tsukasa) An accessory huh? I got it, then over here.(Wataru) Even girls my age usually come over to this town to buy stuff whenever they have time. The town is quite big so I think well find a jewelry or accessory shop if we go around the area in front of the station. Welcome, what are you looking for? No, its not for me but the person accompanying me-(Wataru) You have a cute girlfriend. Ah, in that case, what about the products displayed in this case? We have the new spring products- (Wataru) Master, Master, how about this one?(Tsukasa) Why are you trying it out on yourself? Though it suits you.(Wataru) EhI-Its that so? Thats embarrassing(Tsukasa) We have the one for males that pairs up with that one as a set. How about it? (Wataru) We have a couples day promotion going on today! How about it? The drinks are 30% off! Ah, Im not hungry right now so its fine!(Tsukasa) Thats wrong! Why are you not denying it when we are being called a couple!?(Wataru) I-Im sorry, Master(Tsukasa) With this sort of back and forth, we actually went through five shops. Just how many times will I have to tell the employees that hes not my girlfriend? For some reason, Tsukasa also keeps saying that the products of the shops dont fit his ojou-sama. For the time being, we decided to go back to the bench at our starting point and drink the beverages we bought while resting. Hey, Herscha is an ojou-sama right? She lives in a huge residence right?(Wataru) Thats right.(Tsukasa) You, arent you comparing the items to what she usually wears when you are choosing by any chance?(Wataru) Tsukasa looked at me with surprise once he heard those words. I guess I hit the nail on the head. You may be right(Tsukasa) In that case, wouldnt it be obvious that you find the accessories found in town lacking? Before that, I forgot to ask something important.(Wataru) Something importantyou say?(Tsukasa) Budget, the budget. We should have decided on the shops by taking that into account from the start.(Wataru) Having understood what I meant, Tsukasa nodded one time and brought his face close to my ear. Wait, why is he doing thisto begin with, why does he smell so good even though hes a guy Its clear that hes not wearing any perfume, the smell of his shampoo and soap spread towards me. He then whispered the amount of money to me in a small voice. It was an amount I could believe from someone working at a mansion, it was a large amount of money compared to what a normal high schooler would have. Even then, I guess it wouldnt be enough to buy something that would fit someone with a lot of money(Wataru) Uuuhyou might be right(Tsukasa) From what Tsukasa has said, she usually has accessories made from large natural diamonds or stuff like alexandrite dangling from her. In that case, instead of trying to find something expensive, we should approach this from another angle. In that case, I have a suggestion. Want to hear it?(Wataru) Of course, Master. What is it?(Tsukasa) How about you just forget about buying something thats already made here and make a handmade accessory?(Wataru) It was the only method to fight against expensive gifts. To do that, wouldnt the best thing be a product that you have poured all your feelings into? Thinking about Herschas personality, I believe she would just throw it away if it was some cheap product. Handmadeyou say? I believe that would be lovely but when I think of starting to make it right now(Tsukasa) Dont be that impatient. To tell you the truth, there are quite a few stores in the vicinity where you can try making handmade accessories. I heard that it takes around two hours to make a finished product, how about it? Want to search for one?(Wataru) Ah!(Tsukasa) Tsukasas face turned cheerful. A while back, I heard the girls in my class about them making their own original accessories and it being fun. It was also cheap and simple. I searched the vicinity on my phone at once, there were quite a few stores and they didnt need any reservations either. Glasswork, power stones, silver, glass beads, etc We brought our heads closer and after talking about it for a bit, we decided to call a certain store. Chapter 132 The shop we chose was a silver accessory one. Even though she was an ojou-sama it seems like she liked simple things that suited her, so we decided on silver because it was cheap and also lovely. After making a call to an accessory shop geared towards ladies, I got a reply telling me that we would be able to make it as soon as we went to the store. We are currently en route towards the store. Even though we are talking about silver accessories there are many kinds.(Wataru) Lets seerings, necklaces, pendants, bracelets, anklets, earringsif it was Master, which one would you choose?(Tsukasa) Me? Lets seethis will be my own opinion.(Wataru) Yes.(Tsukasa) I think choosing a ring or earrings as a present would be going a bit too far. Particularly these two, there are many times that particular feelings are put into them when giving them. Its just that, if we think too much about it, then everything will end up being a no go soI think its fine to give her whatever she wants to get the most.(Wataru) The accessory ojou-sama wants to get the mostyou say?(Tsukasa) Tsukasa cutely put his hand on his cheek and pondered. For some reason, all his gestures are very feminineits different from those guys that act as women, to a frightening degree his appearance completely looks like that of a girl. Eventually, will there be a day when this guy grows and becomes more manly? I cant really imagine it. Actually, recently ojou-sama got a new dress made for party use.(Tsukasa) Oh? Then?(Wataru) She was lamenting the fact that she didnt have a necklace or pendant that went well with it.(Tsukasa) Isnt that fine? For you to choose either one of those. By the way, what kind of dress was it?(Wataru) A bright red dress that felt as if it was burning. Since ojou-sama has a flashy appearance, I believe it really suits her.(Tsukasa) O-Oh(Wataru) I think its natural for me to be slightly shocked when I heard about a red dress. It felt like dj vubut that was something that happened inside the game, it has no relation to real life. For her to Actually buy a red dress in real life is probably just a coincidence. In that case, even if its simple, theres a need for something that doesnt get overpowered by the red dress. Even if its only to make the dress look better, theres no meaning if no one takes notice of it.(Wataru) Wahwhen Im with Master, it feels like everything will go well. Its very reassuring.(Tsukasa) Thats just your imagination. Take my words with a grain of salt. More importantly, since we know what sort of costume its going to pair up with, lets consult the person at the shop when we get there. Since the people over there are pros.(Wataru) I wish he didnt look at me with those glittery eyes. Im just what feels right and making plans from there you know The female employee leading us was very polite, after consulting her, everything went smoothly. Since I was just standing there doing nothing, I chose a cheaper offer compared to Tsukasa and joined him. Kishikami-sama, you are very skilled. As expected of Master!(Tsukasa) Master? No, you see, hahaha.dont mind him(Wataru) As expected, I dont really want to be called Master in front of other peoplethough I have already given up on that. What Tsukasa made was a pendant with the image of a flame. If we are talking about flames youd think of something a guy would wear butThis suits ojou-sama perfectly! or so he said, lets trust Tsukasa here. It didnt really look wild, it had a round design that you wouldnt really find odd if a girl was wearing it. The silver we are using doesnt really have any other materials mixed in it, it was done so in case the person had some kind of metal allergy. The final touches will be made by the shop employee, it took around 150 minutes for it to be completed. Since its going to be a present, we wrapped it in a lovely package and left the store. Master, thank you very much for today! I dont know if ojou-sama will like it butthanks to you, I was able to get a present that Id be far more satisfied with than if I did it alone.(Tsukasa) Glad to hear that.(Wataru) Yes! That being said, Master, this is something thats already made but(Tsukasa) Saying that, Tsukasa took something attached to a chain from within his pocket. It seems like he bought it at some point when we were going through the shops. While carefully placing his ojou-samas present under his armpits, he handed it over to me with both hands. This is as thanks for today. Please accept it.(Tsukasa) Is this really ok? Ill gladly accept it butthis is also a pendant huh? The ring is simple and nice, thanks. In that case, here.(Wataru) Saying that, I went behind Tsukasa and placed a pendant on him. If I wasnt being a bit forceful, I get the feeling that he would be reserved and deny the present after all..I skillfully succeeded in making him wear it. The one I gave him was the one I was making inside the shop and had the motif of a bird. Giving a gift when someone was thanking you was kinda weird, but since I did have a lot of fun today I wanted to exchange presents. The reason we both didnt choose a ring was probably because we both understood that those would get in the way when we are doing household chores or work. M-Master?(Tsukasa) I dont take refunds. Well, isnt it fine? Take it as a commemoration for our first meeting, dont be all stiff and think about stuff like gratitude.(Wataru) Master, could it be that you are treating me as a friend?(Tsukasa) Hmm? Doesnt that go without saying?(Wataru) What is this guy even saying? Has he been working in that residence for so long that he thinks of himself as a servant? We are people that have gone together to search for a birthday present on our day off, if we are not friends, what would you call this? However, Tsukasa looked as if he was taken aback and tears started to pile up in his eyes T-hyan-kyu Mu-aster!!(Tsukasa) Daaa, dont hug me! Whats gotten into you suddenly!?(Wataru) But.buuuuut!!(Tsukasa) Whats with him? Dont tell me, he doesnt have any friends!? I apologizeI lost my composure(Tsukasa) Its fine, tell me about the situation, the situation.(Wataru) Just like that time when we met up, the gazes from the passersby were painful. What Tsukasa said was basicallyhe was troubled because he couldnt make friends of the same gender as himself. Whenever he went out on his days off, it was with girls and he did stuff like go to sweet shops or window shopping Could it be thatthats not really because you are popular(Wataru) Yes, I believe they dont even look at me as a member of the opposite sex(Tsukasa) *Zun*With that sort of sound effect, Tsukasas face turned gloomy. So because he goes shopping with girls the clothes he buys end up being femininewhats with that? When hes with guys, it tends to be tense, it seems like they avoid him in order to not open the door towards a new world and things like that. For people looking at it from outside it might feel like a comedy show, but for the person himself its a serious worry. Lets see, Tsukasa. What I can say in regards to your worries is(Wataru) Yes(Tsukasa) Nothing! Unfortunately!(Wataru) Eeeeeeeeh!!(Tsukasa) Tsukasas eyes were making circles but I couldnt really help it. I could give him some advice on the clothes he should wear but its not like he would be able to quickly change whats inside. The only thing I can do is like today, to go out and play with you. Besides, isnt it fine if your appearance is that of a lovely boy? What about you? Are you thinking about forcibly changing?(Wataru) II, I cant bring myself to hate myself when I look exactly like my mom(Tsukasa) In that case, dont think too much about it. Its fine if you just act natural. Even if you dont act in a hurry, eventually, there will be more people that understand you.(Wataru) Master(Tsukasa) Tsukasa yet again looked as if he was going to cry and raised his eyes towards me, hes such a crybaby. But how should I say this, Im not really good with this kind of mood While I was scratching my head, in the road close to us, a black luxury car appeared suddenly. Just when I was wondering what was going on, five well built guys in nice suits surrounded us. Eh? What? Chapter 133 Do you have any bussiness with us?(Wataru) Scaryare these guys yakuza or something? Anyway, theres a high chance that they got the wrong person soI tried my best to not make my voice tremble and asked them. However, these guys didnt reply at all and kept blocking the street. In the middle of that, Tsukasa pulled my sleeve and said. You seeMaster. These guys are our SP.(Tsukasa) SP? So that means-(Wataru) Without telling me a thing, you sure are having fun. Tsukasa. O-Ojou-sama!(Tsukasa) With a hint of pride, a refreshingly clear voice resounded throughout the street. The one who descended from an even bigger car than the one before while being held by the hand of a man was Like a western doll, a beautiful girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. Herscha!? Wait, that hair color and eye color was natural!? You didnt change that with the settings in-game!?(Wataru) I had wondered if it was really the case butshes definitely not Japanese! Furthermore, I dont think shes even a half or a quarter either! Seeing her in real life, I cant feel any Japanese characteristics coming from her. Furthermore, her characteristic drills were going strong too. Ah, no, I apologize. Its actually our first meeting rightor not.(Wataru) Since I dont know her age I also dont know how I should act. I thought that I couldnt speak to her as if we were in-game hence my wording. I dont mind, Hind. Besides, I already told you before that I find it disgusting when you speak to me in a polite manner.(Herscha) I guess you have a pointwait a moment, isnt it too harsh of you to say its disgusting!?(Wataru) Then Herscha made a sighor rather, the ojou-sama who I still didnt know the name of, fixed her hair and daringly smiled at me. Like I thought, like inside the game, shes the type to wear her heart on her sleeve. Currently, I was seated inside the luxury car while slightly shaking. This is weird. Actually, around this time I should have gone to the supermarket and would be on my way home. This felt like an event inside a game, it didnt really feel real to me. These comfortable seats that were facing each other, this was a limousine right? Even though I thought that I would never get to ride one of these in my life Why did this happen.(Wataru) Im sorry, Master. Employees have to state where they are going on days off(Tsukasa) So thats why they knew where we were. Though she shouldnt have known who he was meeting, I felt as if Herscha understood something from looking at how Tsukasa was fidgeting on his seat. In other words, you could say it was simply her sixth sense telling her a rough outline of what we had done. Shes quite the frightening woman. What are you dissatisfied with? To be invited into my own home to have dinner, even famous businessmen rarely get such a chance.(Herscha) Its not like I want to become a businessman or a member of the governmentwait, thats not it. Im the one in charge of chores at home, I have to go back and make preparations for dinner.(Wataru) I was forcibly pushed into the car and Rises cooking sense is god awful. Its becoming dark, so she should be finishing cram school about now. My mom also has a day shift today so she should be finishing work and returning home, she should also be quite tired so if Im not there, the chances that they make some instant food is high. Just thinking of myself eating some extravagant dinner while the two members of my family are eating some simple mealit makes my chest hurt. While I was asking like that, Tsukasa did his best to protest. O-Ojou-samaI was the one that called Master on my own personal request so(Tsukasa) I know that! This is what people call an offline meeting right? Why did you leave me out!?(Herscha) Ah(Tsukasa) Tsukasa was silenced. Well, its not like he can say he was choosing a birthday presenteven less in front of the person herself. In that case, I guess I should fabricate a reason for both of us to meet. A straight out lie will surely be discovered right away, in this casedont hate me for this, Tsukasa. The truth is, Tsukasa asked me to choose some casual clothes for him. It would be pretty boring to bring a girl to a mens fashion shop right? Isnt that so, Tsukasa?(Wataru) Eh? Ah, yes, thats right! Ojou-sama, you know about my worries right?(Tsukasa) Whats with that unnatural question? If I remember correctly, you were worried that you are not very manlyI see. I guess theres nothing I can do if thats the reason.(Herscha) Thats right! It cant be helped right!?(Tsukasa) ?(Herscha) Tsukasa, who was sitting next to me, played along buthes really bad at lying. The ojou-sama sitting down in front of us was tilting her head. So, getting back on topic. Its fine around here, could you drop me off? Ill just walk back somehow.(Wataru) Non non, that wont do. What you wanted to say was that it would be fine if I did something about your familys dinner right? In that case, tell me your address.(Herscha) What are you saying? Theres no way I could tell others that kind of personal information so lightl-(Wataru) I wont do anything bad! Tell me!(Herscha) No, like I sai-(Wataru) T?E?L?L M?E(Herscha) Fine.(Wataru) This back and forth is similar to that first time we met. Shes so pushy. However, what is she planning to do once she gets the address? Is she going to order some food delivery or something? Once she got that information out of me, she looked at the maid that was sitting next to her. Then, the maid contacted someone in a low voice. Uwahits a real maidbut for some reason, shes Japanese. She has black hair. Anyway, you have nothing to worry about.(Herscha) Ah, I see(Wataru) I resigned to my fate and slowly deflated on top of the seat. Umu, this seat is so soft Once he saw that, Tsukasa looked quite startled. Mastereven if Im not one to say this, havent you given up too easily?(Tsukasa) Listen Tsukasa. When it comes to girls with such a pushy personality, once they decided on something, they wont listen to anything you say(Wataru) Ara, you do get it.(Herscha) Once I closed my eyes, I could see an image of Miyu smirking with her arms crossed. When I opened my eyes, I could see a girl with a similar expression in front of me. This one has pride and financial wealth on top of it, shes even more troublesome I calmed down and fixed my posture and remembered something I forgot to ask. Now that I think about it, I havent heard your name yet. It feels kinda weird because its not really our first time meeting butIm Kishikami Wataru.(Wataru) Pleased to make your acquaintance, Wataru. My name is Wendelgart?Marie?Schultz(Marie) Wen-my bad, what did you say?(Wataru) Wendelgart?Marie?Schultz (Marie) Is it fine if I refer to you with your middle name? Ah, is it not good if I refer to you with your middle name unless we are close? Would it be overly familiar?(Wataru) No, I dont mind. This is just one of my grandfathers hobbies, its not the name I go by these days.(Marie) In that case, Marie(Wataru) With that, I was invited to Maries house. Though I was half forced into it. After that, we stayed in the car for around two hours. While wondering what kind of high quality product this orange juice, which was oddly fragrant and sweet, the place we arrived at was A mansion on a slightly elevated hill. From the main entrance, you could see a fountain in front of the door further away and there were magnificent gigantic buildings on both sides too. The lawn was perfectly taken care of andis that a pool I see? A space that I wouldnt usually be able to imagine spread out in front methis is Japan right? While I was dumbfounded as I left the vehicle, another car entered the premises with great speed. Consequently, two people descended from the car as if they were falling over. Those two are Nii-san!(Rise) Wataru! Are you OK!? Are you injured!?(Akeno) Rise and mom tackled me with great vigor and were touching my body all over the place. You could see a lot of question marks appearing inside my head. Ah? Oh? Why are mom and Rise here? Besides, what do you mean by injuries?(Wataru) I heard that nii-san was kidnapped(Rise) They said that wataru was kidnapped(Akeno) Hah!? Wait a moment! What kind of explanation did you give them!?(Marie) Marie asked the maid next to her what was going on. Her hairstyle was cut in blunt bangs, the beautiful Japanese woman called Shizuka stated this coldly. I told them that Wataru-sama was under our custody(Shizuka) The way you said it could be easily misunderstood! S-Shizuka-san(Tsukasa) What are you doing Shizuka!? Didnt I tell you to tell them in an amicable manner and bring them over here!? I said that right!?(Marie) Tsukasa and Marie looked at her while criticizing her but the maid didnt seem to care. She did say that I didnt have to worry about dinner but I never thought she would actually bring both of them here too I placed a hand on my forehead and shook my head and looked at my family, who didnt know what was going on. It seems like I wont be able to count on them so I did my best to explain the situation After that, there are parts that I dont really remember well. The reason for that might have been because I reached my mental limits. We first were led inside the mansion towards a guest room, when I was thinking about going to the toiletTsukasa appeared after having changed into a butler outfit. Like that, I started to help him out. Maybe because I forcibly made him let me help out, Tsukasa was scolded and I felt bad about it. However, even if we are guests, with my personality it doesnt really feel right to be taken care of by others without doing anything myselfI cant really calm down after being told to just sit down and relax. For some reason, the head butler seemed to take a liking to me and said You are free to come! and tried to scout me but I declined. I have no intention to leave my current workplace after all. Furthermore, this place is just too far. When it came to the dinner, Marie appeared wearing a red dress that looked exactly the same as the one I made in-gameunimaginable stuff happened that day. Rise was in a bad mood from start to finish but my mom was in a good mood because she got to eat a stravagant dinner for free. Marie mistook her for our older sister for some reason and that made her be in an even better mood. Mom Maries parents seemed to not be here at the moment and honestly, I was glad when I heard that. To eat in front of people that are this rich, theres no doubt that I wouldnt be able to taste whatever I was eating if that were to happen when Im already at my limits eating with their daughter Marie. By the way, I heard that Marie was really pleased with the silver accessory that Tsukasa made. Im glad, Tsukasa. Chapter 134 Hi 0 progress was made yesterday hence the delay. Havent started working on the next chapter so releases might go a bit slower. Anyway, time for the beginning of the new event and the return of certain characters. Enjoy. So, like that, our family got kidnapped yesterday. Ah, the food was delicious though.(Hind) To think that Hind-dono was really kidnapped. And to think that Riizu-chan was kidnapped too that fast(Tobi) Hah. In my case, being pulled around by someone like thatI was really displeased because she looked exactly the same as a certain someone. Even though dinner was delicious, this is an entirely different matter.(Riizu) Ah? When you say that she looked exactly the same as a certain someone you meant me?(Yumir) Is there someone else?(Riizu) Riizu and Yumir glared at each other while arguing like always. I placed my hands on both of their faces to separate them and stayed in the middle. Calm down.(Hind) Nuguhthat being said, why didnt you bring me along, Hind!? Even though something that exciting happened!(Yumir) I originally was only meeting Walter. Yumir, you havent really talked much with Walter right?(Hind) Thats true but! Nugugu(Yumir) We were telling them the necessary information. While doing some farm work inside TB, Riizu and I told them a general outline of what had happened yesterday. The reason we were having this conversation was because they asked us why we didnt log in yesterday. Because it was really far away, it was really late by the time we got home. I sent a short message to the guild members saying we wouldnt be able to log in that day and went to bed early because I was really tired. Anyway, I understand what happened. So, why is that idiot sprawled on top of the soil?(Yumir) Ah, yeah. I know why but in order to preserve his dignity I wont say anythingjust leave him be.(Hind) I dont really get it but I got it. I wont ask.(Yumir) Hesdepressed right? Tobi-kun seems like hes in low spirits(Selene) Yumir was pointing at a space between the fields, Tobi was rolling around the ground over there. I tried to give an ambiguous answer. I cant say itI cant say that Tobi has ended up like that after seeing a picture of Walter, or rather, Tsukasa in casual clothes. During the day, Shuuhei asked me about what happened yesterday during a break. After telling him about the handmade silver accessory, I remembered that I took a picture with Tsukasa. Like a girl, Tsukasa said that we should take one as a commemoration of that day, so we took a photo with each one of our phones. Once he heard that, Shuuhei took a step back as I pulled out my phone. Scary! B-But, my curiositythis feeling of wanting to look at something frightening(Shuuhei) A-Are you OK!? You havent recovered from that trauma right? If it seems impossible, dont force yourself.(Wataru) I-Ill look! If its the current me itll be fineitll be fine!! This is surely I trial I must surpass!(Shuuhei) While murmuring that Shuuhei looked at the photo, when I thought he would open his eyes in surprise While holding my phone tightly, he started to cry. By the way, this is something that happened while we were in the classroom, but it was kinda sad how the other classmates just thought Hes doing something dumb again when they saw him cry. Saitou-san, who was in charge of erasing the blackboard, was the only one that looked at me and asked What happened?, I only smiled wryly in reply. With only that, she nodded as if she understood and went back to work. Why does this have to be a guywhy is he even cuter than in-gamewhy is he cute even in casual clothes?(Shuuhei) Throwing three Whys in rapid succession, Shuuhei sent that picture to his own phone without my permission, probably because it would be problematic if he opened it, he moved it to a folder and locked it. Seems like his mind is in chaos, he was acting weird. Maybe he wanted to look at it over and over on his own device, or maybe he didnt want to look at it ever again WacchiI, I will definitely find a girl as cute as this one(Shuuhei) I-I see, good luc-should I be even say that?(Wataru) I got the feeling that what he was saying was odd but his mental agony was clearly transmitted to me. Due to this situation, Tobi spent the entire day in a state that looked as if his soul had left his body. Leaving Tobi, who was sprawled on the ground heartbroken, we kept planting the medicinal herbs and nutritional plants that had heat resistance in the field. We especially used a lot of these two types of plants while compounding so we gave them preference and planted a lot of them. While we were doing that, Selene-san stopped her hands, looked up and faced me. Oh, thats right. I dont really know what happened but before I logged in, I got some information that might make Tobi-kun happy.(Selene) Oh, really? In that case, Selene-san, please go ahead and tell us.(Hind) Maybe because he heard us, Tobis body seemed to twitch while being sprawled on the ground. While clapping her hands to get rid of the soil, Selene-san continued to talk. If I remember correctly, Tobi-kun liked Maou-chan right? Theres rumors that Maou-chan will appear again in the next event and-(Selene) Uuuuuuohhhhhhhhh!! Maaaaaoooooouuuu-chan!!(Tobi) Gross!! Whats with those movements!?(Yumir) The moment he heard Selene-sans words, Tobi stood up with unnatural movements as if he was a spring. His face was still all black filled with soil. Seeing him act like that, Yumir took some distance away from him. I dont really care but those kinds of movements would hurt your bodythough its fine since we are in-game. Selene-dono! Details! Give me more details!(Tobi) Ah, y-yes. You see, usually we would have an announcement in the morning telling us what kind of event it would be but there was nothing right? So people are thinking that it might be like the first event and they are going to suddenly announce it in-game-(Selene) Uoooooooooo!! Are you serious!? For real!? Im getting motivated!!(Tobi) However, these are just rumorsbut hes not listening anymore(Selene) Selene-sans words were drowned by Tobis roar. However, if we consider the order of events, I guess it wouldnt be weird for the next one to be something related to monsters. If they are going to announce it at the same time as last time, it should be appearing about now- Shortly, well announce the combined type raid event. To the players logged in currently, itll be possible to enjoy the special event we have prepared if you go to a place where you can see the sky and wait. Its hereeeeeeeeeee!!! Its here!! If these words are appearing, theres no doubt that itll be Maou-chan!(Tobi) With great timing, letters started to flow from the ground. Like Tobi said, if they told us to look at the sky theres pretty much no doubt that its going to be that. Ah, I guess its fine if we just stay here in the agriculture section. If they mentioned a raid, thats where you gather a party of more players than usual and fight a gigantic boss monster right? Yumir.(Hind) Umu, you are not wrong there. I dont know whats the party limit in TB, but in games there are times when over a hundred players fight together.(Yumir) A hundred players against a gigantic boss? The image of ants swarming against an elephant comes to my mind(Riizu) Since it was the first online game for me and Riizu, we couldnt really imagine how something like that would be. How are we going to split the rewards? How are we going to manage healing and buffing? Furthermore, theres that whole combined part that picked my interest. What does that even mean?(Hind) Something apart from the raidit probably means that there will be something apart from the raid itself. With only this much information, I guess we wont know until we hear the details.(Riizu) You are right. Well, guess well just wait obediently and wait for the developers to explain.(Hind) Im going to do it!! Ill work the amount I slacked off!!(Tobi) Umu, work hard, ninja.(Yumir) In that case, go and use your clone and work on it, ninja.(Hind) For some reason, you guys are being harsh!? Ugh, in that case, leave the rest to me!! Ill do it!!(Tobi) Including Tobi, who had finally cheered up, we planted the seeds before the event was announced. In the meantime, something was being projected in the sky Ah. Ooh!! Ooh..oh? Eventually the image stabilized and a single person was projected in the sky. An extreme close up on a slit-eyed man, Maou-chans attendant, Samael. At that moment, Tobi started silently throwing stones at Samael. Chapter 135 Nothing much to say this time. Enjoy. Nooooooo!! What are you doing!? I havent said anything yet!(Samael) Shut up!! Bring out Maou-chan!! D-Degozaruuuuu!!(Tobi) Samael reacted as if he was protecting his body, probably, the players in other places were also throwing stones at him Furthermore, they were probably also shouting at him like Tobi was doing. Unfortunately(?), we cant really look at the reactions the other players have from the agricultural area. Even though it was better than before, compared to other areas, Sala was still rather unpopulated. However, if we were in the middle of town, while you wouldnt be able to call it a large amount, you probably would be able to see quite the amount of stones being thrown. Ugh, stop with this kind of pattern already! Ill be speaking first, then Maou-sama will talk with you visitors! Maou-sama is bad at giving detailed explanations! She will definitely bite her tongue! Inconsiderate monkeys!(Samael) Samael!? Just now, did you just casually disrespect me!?(Maou) To begin with, you should start talking after making your appearance! Only your voice!? Are we only going to hear your voice, Maou-chan!? If you are close by, please make your appearance! Even though I want to look at Maou-chan even if its just a minute or second longer!(Tobi) Uwah Listening to Tobi scream his heart out, the girls started backing down. In his rage, he kept throwing the stones he had in his inventory. He sure has quite the amount of stones in therethough I guess the fact that hes not using kunais or bo-hiyas attests to the fact that he has not gone crazy yet. Gohon! Hear me out, visitors! The area we have released monsters at this time isthe Mahl Republic, Sepia water area! Right now, its the season for fishing Tunnus right? Kukukuin order to protect the fishing grounds from the monsters, head to the northern region right now!(Samael) Releasing the monsters after making an announcement, how sincere are these demons?(Hind) They are really dumb(Riizu) Well, we could say this kind of circumstances are because we are inside a game though Other than that, if they announce the place, I guess they want the players to plan a way to go there. It would be another thing if there was a warp like back with the tournament though. Hind, whats that Tunnus that guy talked about?(Yumir) Hmm? Ah, in short, its tuna. I have seen it being sold in the trading BBS. In other words, they are probably going to release monsters that prey on tunas?(Hind) Aquatic monsters huhI wonder what itll be.(Yumir) Could it be that well need a ship to sail into the sea?(Riizu) -Uhyoooooooooooo!! Maou-chaaaaaaaaaaan!!(Tobi) Close to us who were having a conversation, Tobi screamed at the sky in delight. Looking at the source, like he had said, Maou-chan was displayed on the screen. (Maou) However, for some reason, Maou-chan didnt say a word while sitting down in her chair. Looking at her closely, there was a bright red mask with a X on her mouth. I dont really get itbut, Maou-chan was banging the table and making gestures with her hands to bring our attention to her. The camera kept focusing on her and this time, she took a bundle of papers from under the table. Whats that?(Hind) Hind-kun. Those papers, they have drawings on them.(Selene) Muu. Is thisa picture book?(Yumir) Seems like it.(Riizu) From above the papers on top of the table, the camera settled down at the perfect distance where we could see the papers and also Maou-chan looking at us. Tobi was delighted to be able to see from that distance. Thinking that he had been silent for a while, I realized that he had been concentrating on taking screenshots with the camera function. The cover on the first page read Southern sea Kraken written in round hiragana. 300 years ago-(Samael) At the same time that Maou-chan turned the page over, we could hear Samaels voice, which wasnt reflected on the screen. Seeing that, Yumir tilted her head. Maou-chan is not speaking.(Yumir) Well, Samael already said it butshe did bite her tongue while giving her speech last time.(Riizu) Though a large amount of players did find the fact that she was stuttering cute(Selene) She probably dislikes the fact that she cant speak. But looking at this makes you think again, that the learning ability of TBs AI is amazing.(Hind) In other words, they used this method in order to prevent her from biting her own tongue while explaining. Maou-chan, she sure is doing her best. Especially when in a crowd, it would swim really slowly, on top of that, since he looked different from others, he was ridiculed by the companions around him.(Samael) Drawn in one of the pages was the depressed Kraken being made fun of by others. It was kinda hard to see but you could somehow differ it from the picture. That being said, discrimination is a painful thingwhen I was a kid, I was excluded from the boys groups because I was playing with Miyu and Rise all the time. Even then, the Kraken put up with the herd. Endured, endured, and enduredfor how many years did he do so? On a certain day, he realized that his body was bigger than anyone else in the herd.(Samael) Maou-chan turned over the page, on that page, the Kraken was drawn having grown splendidly. Ooh, the Kraken worked hard! He deserves praise! Then, the Kraken finally realized. If it was with this gigantic bodythat he would be able to exact revenge on all those that mocked him until now!(Samael) EEh? The atmosphere has suddenly Wouldnt it be fine if he just proved himself worthy of being the leader of the herd? Or he could just leave the herd, he could also just go on a trip and explore the parts of the ocean he hasnt seen yet. Then in the next page, the Krakens eyes were glowing with a suspicious color. The Kraken attacked all those that had mocked him in the past! Then(Samael) The Kraken used his tentacles to attack. The appearance of the members of the herd that the Kraken attackeddidnt look like him at all no matter how you looked at them. Thats right! The herd the Kraken had lived with for so many years, it wasnt an octopus one but a Tunnus one!(Samael) W-What did you just say!? However, its impressive how an octopus was able to keep up with a tunas speed. If I remember correctly, a tunas swimming speed is around 10km/h, the fastest they can go is 80km/h. Whats this!? Its so tasty!!(Samael) While munching on them, it was as if his pent up resentment disappeared and he craved for all the tuna herds in the ocean. As Maou-chan flipped through the pages in the story book, the Krakens body kept getting bigger and bigger. Becoming the supreme ruler of the southern seas, The Kraken devoured ships, living beings and even monsters of the same race as him until the Maou sealed him. Even now, the Kraken is starving inside the jar the Maou sealed him in and is trying to break free while rampaging inside(Samael) THere was a drawing of Maou-chan cramming the octopus inside a jar and the picture book ended right there. Maou-chan breathed out in satisfaction, then she organized the bundle of papers, after placing the papers down, this time she placed a jar that looked exactly like the one in the picture on the table. Inside that fist sized brown jar, something seemed to be moving and it was currently shaking. You understood right!? That will be all.(Samael) The moment Samael tried to wrap things up like thatYumir, Riizu, Tobi and I took a stone and threw it at the image of Samael. How are we supposed to understand it! Nuooh!? Was my explanation still not enough!? In short, because sealing it again will be too troublesome, we are just pushing the job on you guys, the visitor-(Samael) Samael!?(Maou) Ah!? O-Oh crap!(Samael) Having mixed his true feelings in there, Samael held his head between his hands as he shouted. While removing her mask, Maou-chan kicked Samael in the shin and started to hit his body repeatedly. B-Because of your verbal slip, the picture book I worked so hard on has become useless! Like this, itd be the same as if I was asking them for a favor normallyKuh, my dignity!(Maou) So Maou-chan drew that picture book? Why was it drew with crayons like those used by kids?(Yumir) More importantly, Maou-chan didnt have a thing called dignity from the start.(Riizu) Yumir and Riizu retorded. Next to us, Tobi looked really excited because Maou-chan had finally been able to speak normally. In the projection, Samael was frantically lowering his head towards Maou-chan. I-I apologize Maou-sama! Please, forgive me!(Samael) I dont really care how, summarize things properly, Samael! Im already tired of this! That jar keeps shaking in the middle of the night and I havent been able to sleep properly! Though, if I were to place it far away, the seal would weaken! Ugh! No more!(Maou) Ugua-anyway! Like I told you at the beginning, the Kraken loves Tunnuses! Follow the Tunnuses in the Sepia water area and subjugate the Kraken that will appear there! Thatll be all!(Samael) After Samael left those words in his act of desperation, the projection in the sky disappeared. Chapter 136 Hi there, Was busy with other stuff so took a while to finish this chapter. Enjoy. HaaMaou-chanIm healed.(Tobi) I-I see. Good for you(Hind) In regard to Tobi, who had an idiotic face and was smiling in delight, the three girls continued talking without giving him any attention. Since it cant be helped, guess Ill get closer and talk to him so he cools down. So, did they say what kind of event would be next?(Tobi) You, you werent listening at all? Just how absorbed were you in watching Maou-changeez, whatever. The next event is in the sea of the Mahl Republic, we have to defeat a Kraken. If its like always, the details should appear if we wait for a bit?(Hind) Did they mention anything that would explain why its called a combined type?(Tobi) Nope, not at all.(Hind) Mahl huh, Tobi murmured that as he opened the menu window. As wed expected, there was a notice of the update with details about the event. Its already upthe duration is one week, the event will start in three days.(Hind) Is there any means of transportation to get there?(Tobi) According to the instructions, there doesnt seem to be any warp functions like with the tournament.(Hind) In that case, we have three days to move towards our destination huh? This is rather troublesome.(Tobi) That seems to be the case. Seems to be some kind of grace period, considering where we are currently, its going to be troublesome. We have no other choice but to proceed while defeating the area bossesthough it seems like they have weakened the main bosses on the road. Seems like they are about as strong as bosses in rural areas. We are currently pretty far west in this continent after all. Though its better than being in the northern Beli Confederation.(Hind) Even then, its pretty far(Tobi) It wont take long if we use the Grado Turks right?(Yumir) Yumir, who had noticed that Tobi was back to normal, cut into our conversation. Consequently, Riizu and Selene-san came over too. Its true that the Grado Turks are excellent, but it would be a bit hard to travel with a group of five with only two of them. Even if you say that, the most people a Grado Turk can carry is three right? Thats if everyone were female. With guys, two would be the limit and if they were heavy, they would get tired quickly. I dont think itll be very efficient for long distance travel?(Hind) Besides, if the members of Baby Bird told us they want to go, we would have to bring them along too.(Selene) Ah, theres that too. Yupin that case it would be better for everyone to ride a camelbut if there was a long distance to travel after we entered Mahl too, camels would be(Hind) For problems like this to happen even before the event has started, are the developers saying something like I think its about time for you guys to secure some means of transportation? However, horses, which are the most suitable for long distance travel, are still very expensive, the current situation is not that different from a few weeks ago. As a result of our discussion As expected, we will have to rent a mount?(Riizu) You think so too, Riizu? Financially, I think that option is better too.(Hind) The ones you rent are Common Horses whose rank is fixed, the price is 50k G a day and you can borrow them from the stables in each village. If players had to use one frequently it would be better to just buy one, but you could say that its perfect for situations like this when you just need to use one for a limited time. Lets leave the small details for when the members of Baby Bird are here. I wonder if the places you can go with rental horses are fixed? Next, I guess we need to decide how we are going to do the event as a guild.(Hind) Looking at the outline of the event, I guess we would either go at it by ourselves or team up with strangers. I dont mind either way!(Yumir) As for temporal alliances for the event, the maximum is the alliance of up to five guilds. Just for reference, the member limit for a guild in TB is fifty people, if five of those were allied together that would mean that the limit for Raid Bosses in TB is of 250 people. Thats a lot. For alliances, when you come into contact with the Raid Boss a field will be created so others cant enter. For people that go on their own, the area will be closed when the maximum number of people is reached. What do you think, Selene-san?(Hind) Me? Ah, right. You are worried because Im not good with strangers right? In fact, since I believe I will stand out even less because there will be a lot of people, I will feel even less pressure. Im fine either way.(Selene) If we were speaking about efficiency, an alliance would be the best. Playing on your own is usually fine, but its not very efficient when it comes to events like this.(Tobi) If its the developers of this game, they will probably prepare rewards for those that play solo butthat is indeed the case.(Hind) By the way, they still havent revealed the reward for this event. Seems like they want to reveal it just before the event starts in three days. I have my suspicions thattheyll probably announce some extravagant rewards to attract people if there are not enough players when the event starts. Seeing that the flow of the conversation leaned towards forming an alliance, Yumir folded her arms and was pondering. But, do we have any ideas of which guild to ally up with? In our case, it would be a bit questionable for us to employ Albert and his daughter right?(Yumir) The guilds that would need them would be those that even having a lot of members, they still lack an Ace Attacker. In our case, on the contrary-(Hind) Umu. Migratory Bird already has an Ace and that would be me!(Yumir) An Ace, in other words, you mean me right? Well, I know that even if you dont say anything.(Tobi) Both of them stuck out their chest to catch my attention. Its not like they are wrong butRiizu sighed and Selene-san smiled wryly. I do have confidence in your skills, but we have nowhere near enough people. Wed need to make an alliance with at least two guilds with a lot of members. Otherwise, I believe well have a lot of trouble if we go with the alliance option and fight.(Hind) There is the option of increasing the number of people in our guild but I dont think its a good idea to forcibly let people in that we dont know if well get along well with or not. If there were a large number of people, chances are high that Selene-san would feel uncomfortable. Coincidentally, me and everyone else, we dont have any intention of making this a very big guild. Even if we added the members of Baby Bird we would only be eight people. Challenging a Raid Boss with that amount would be reckless. In that case, Hind-dono, you should try contacting the people in your friend list first.(Tobi) Mine? Ah, I see. Its true that both of them are leaders of big guilds.(Hind) Both of them are our common friends, I think theyll at least hear us out. If thats not good, well contact Tobis friendsif that doesnt work either, well try to recruit with the in-game recruitment feature and other ways like SNS and the BBS to recruit a big number of people. Going on our own will be the last resort. So, the meaning of that combined part that I was so interested in is this. Seems like its a fishing event.(Hind) The event details in the window menu showed Starting at the same time! Lets fish the biggest Tunnus!. Seems like we can get rewards depending on the size of the Tunnus we fish. Looks like buying a ship and fishing rods are both possible currently. Trying to catch tuna with a fishing rod, huh? I wonder if vanguards will have an advantage with their superior physical strength?(Tobi) I wonder. Will the weight correction from the physical power stat have an effect on the fishing rod?(Hind) Now that you mention it, I havent tried fishing in this game yet.(Tobi) Me either. In the BBSor rather, I guess information about it should be gathered in walkthrough sites. I guess its better if we gather information about it first.(Selene) So there are convenient sites like that. Theres nothing wrong with having more information soIll take a look at it too later on.(Riizu) While looking at the method of fishing I found out that you are able to summon the Kraken when you throw a certain number of Tunnus you have caught into the ocean. In cases where you are joining on your own, it seems like theres a bonus depending on the amount of Tunnus you contribute to the summoning. I get the feeling that they placed a big importance on Fishing in this event. You wont be able to do the event until you have caught some Tunnus. I guess this is about it? What do you think? Yumir. Got anything else to say as the GM?(Hind) Nothing! Ill leave all the small details to you, Hind!(Yumir) Isnt that the same as always?(Riizu) Hey you over there, quiet!(Yumir) Now now. Look, we should finish planting these.(Hind) Oops, there were still some left. We should finish quickly and thengo level up?(Tobi) I guess so. Seems like they just went and increased the level cap after all.(Hind) At the end of the event details there was an announcement saying Level cap unlocked!. Seems like the next level cap is 50. After finishing the work in the agricultural area, we prepared our gear and went monster hunting. Since we had gotten used to fighting as a party, we managed to reach level 42 about two hours after we started hunting. Since we decided to make preparations to travel tomorrow, we decided to log out at that time. Chapter 137 Heres the next chapter, a bit earlier than planned. Enjoy. Guhmunya(Siesta) (Hind) Immediately after logging in, there was a furball on the bed of my private room inside the guild housewrong, there was a girl with long wavy hair sleeping on it. Why is she sleeping here? Anyway, I tried to wake Siesta-chan by shaking her. Hhnn.(Siesta) When I thought that she would roll over to the other side with a light moan, this time she was laying there facing upwards with a face full of delight and kept sleeping. The moment she turned over, there was a certain part of her that shaked like crazyas always, this girl is bad for my heart. Hey, please wake up. Did you need something from me? Hey!(Hind) Huaa?(Siesta) While propelling her upper body upwards in an unsteady manner, she started rubbing her eyes and finally woke up. Once I entered her field of view, she loosened her face with a smile. Good morning, Senpai.(Siesta) Morning. Why were you sleeping in my room?(Hind) I was thinking about ambushing Senpai so I entered the room, but then I noticed that the bedding looked really comfortable so Also, this room smells really nice.(Siesta) Well the futon was made with the feathers that I collected after all. Since we cant really get a high quality one in real life, I got the urge to make one in-game. The source of the smell should be this? Herbs and a mixture of Adeniums.(Hind) Supi(Siesta) You were the one that asked! Wake up!(Hind) Sniff sniffuhehe(Siesta) Stop that! Ive only slept there a few times butstop it!(Hind) Its not like my smell will linger in the futon butit doesnt change the fact that its embarrassing. I needed about ten minutes to pull Siesta-chan, who clearly had come to prank me, from the bed. Once we left the room, we headed to our usual meeting spot, the lounge. Siesta-chan was grabbing the hem of my clothes and was pulled along as I walked. My Shinto Priests robes are going to stretch! Wait, I guess maybe they wont since its a game? Im curious. What about the other two?(Hind) They are already here. Besides, I think Senpai is the last one to come from Migratory Bird. I stealthily went to your room as soon as the little sister came.(Siesta) Really? I just couldnt stop after I started cleaning the kitchen.(Hind) Senpai, you are saying the same kind of things my mom does(Siesta) Started with the drainage, then the oil stains on the wall, filter of the ventilation fans, stains in the grill I was only planning to clean the drainage at the beginning, but I ended up cleaning all the small places. Baking soda is really useful. That being said, Senpais room was really comfortable. Is your room in real life like that too?(Siesta) As youd expect, theres no feather duvet though. I do keep it clean and since theres not many things in it, I guess it would be pretty similar.(Hind) To begin with, theres a great difference when it comes to keeping the room clean. The one in-game wont get dirty, and you can place a big amount of items inside the item box. For the record, the room came only with the item box, so you could say we needed things to make it seem like someone was living in there. In RPGs like this, I believe that things that are not particularly important to progress in them are important. I see, thats nice. I, I want to live in Senpais house.(Siesta) That, you say that because even if you did nothing, I would take care of you?(Hind) Yes yes. You are good at cooking, you also would probably clean up my room. Also, unlike my own, you would wake me up gently in the morning. I wonder if the little sister would switch positions with me? Change.(Siesta) Thats quite the cruel reason. Why dont you try asking Riizu? Though she will probably get angry.(Hind) Probably. Ill refrain from doing it, for now.(Siesta) Whats with that statement that had a deeper meaning, Im getting really uneasy Once we entered the lounge, as Siesta-chan had said, there were six people in there. Luckily tonight, all the members didnt have anything else to do and were able to meet up like this. Like this, well be able to start moving at the same time. However, since we dont know if well be able to proceed smoothly like this from tomorrow onwards, I hope that we can get as close as possible to our objective tonight. You are here, Hind! We dont have time, lets depart immediately!(Yumir) These were the first words coming out from Yumirs mouth while she was impatiently moving her legs from her seat. Judging from how long it took us to come here from the desert, I can understand why shes in such a hurry. Riizu tilted her head when she saw me and Siesta-chan entering the room at the same time, but expecting this, Siesta-chan told her I met him by chance while wandering aroundin a calm manner. Yeah, no comment. Sure thing. I guess the members of Baby Bird are fine with coming along with us?(Hind) Yes! I believe it would be nice if we could also help with the Raid battle!(Lyco) Umyu. Ill just be a parasite.(Siesta) Hey, Si! Eh, well do our best(Cineraria) Alright then. Lets do our best.(Hind) I have gotten used to their usual back and forth. Once I heard from Yumir that they had finished harvesting the agricultural area, I realized that they had already finished that because I ran late. When it comes to low rarity medicinal herbs, its possible to harvest them after 24 hours pass. However, if after they become able to be harvested you leave them for another 24 hours, they will wither. Since we wont be coming back for a while, its OK to not plant anything after we are done harvesting. Furthermore, each person has a large amount of healing medicine, theres only one other thing we have to prepare. So, before we set off, I need to consult you about something.(Hind) What is it?(Tobi) Everyone knows that if you go to another village or town, you are unable withdraw gold from another bank right?(Hind) O-Oh, thats right! If you were to ask why, eh, hmmm, its that(Yumir) Yumir-san, please stop pretending you knowyou look like an idiot, you know?(Riizu) Guhah!?(Yumir) If I remember correctly, each bank is like its own business right? For some reason, theres no connection between each other.(Selene) Thats right. So, we have to at least bring the amount of money that will be needed for things like renting the fishing rods and ship. Theres also the amount needed to buy healing items. So we need to discuss about the amount of money we need to bring with us right now(Hind) In this game, if an event happens in the area you decided to set your home at, theres a few advantages. Last time, we had an advantage because it was easy for us to know what the Queen liked, this time, the people in the Mahl Republic will have an advantage. The bank is one of those advantages. On top of that, other than the amount we bring with us, theres also the problem of dividing the money between us or having a particular person have it all. Im expecting that PKs will take advantage of this event to attack players.(Hind) Theres the death penalty of losing half of your current Gold when you die, when you are defeated by monsters, that money disappears somewhere, but in case you are PKd they can just steal that money from you. The chances that they are able to steal your possessions is low, but they are guaranteed to steal your money. You could say that bandits and robbers will aim for this event because the number of players that will bring a large amount of money with them will increase. Even players that roleplay as thieves and form groups definitely exist. Ah, those definitely exist! I guess the developers are giving this chance for people that want to PK to have funthough, its not like I hate that kind of thing.(Tobi) If what Senpai thinks turns out to be true, I wonder if the reason the banks are so inconvenient was because of that? Ive always thought it was weird.(Cineraria) Using this method, inevitably, itll increase the chances of players bringing their money with them while they are traveling on the field. For the record, because they have increased the lv cap, little by little, the areas where you cant PK have been increasing. Theres few worries of there being beginner hunters. Until recently, it was impossible to PK players level 20 and below. Other than that, they recently implemented a system that rewards you for killing PKs, PKK guilds have started to appear in order to take advantage of that and the situation in the vicinity of the Empire is quite fun these days from what I heard. Thats mostly information Ive gotten from the BBS. Listening to Cineraria-chans opinion, Lycoris, who sat next to her, put her hands together in admiration. Ooh, Sai-chan is so clever! I only thought that maybe it was a bit weird or something.(Lyco) Lyco, maybe you should use your head a bit more-(Siesta) Si-chan you are so mean!(Lyco) Even though she was saying Siesta was mean, Lycoris-chan was still cheerful and didnt seem to mind too much. Yup, her smile is so pure and dazzling Selene-san was looking at the situation and couldnt help but laugh, after thinking for a bit, she shifted her gaze and said. Well, its true that if everyone has their own money, we can just divide the risk while we are traveling. Even if we are unable to resurrect in time, well only lose a small amount of the money after all. However, theres also the case where we are going to get wiped and we can have the one holding all the money run awaywhich one would be better?(Selene) In that case, I want to leave everything in Hinds hands. If something were to happen, Ill finally be able to say that thing Ive always wanted to say at least once after all!(Yumir) Whats that thing you want to say?(Hind) With an Umu , Yumir stood up from her seat. All of us had a bad feeling about this, but only Lycoris-chan, who sympathized with her, had her eyes glittering. Leave this to me! No worries, Ill clean this up quickly and go after you guys-(Yumir) Isnt that a death flag!?(Hind) Yumir-san dies really fast so its not like its wrong.(Riizu) That being said, didnt you have anything better to say? When people say something like that, they are defeated right away most of the time.(Tobi) Yumir-senpai, so cool!(Lyco) Eh!? Right!? said Yumir with a big smile. Then Lycoris-chan repeatedly said You are so cool!. Well, its true that its a good thing to say if you were to choose the timing correctlybut this time, it wasnt really cool right? Seeing that exchange between both of them, we could only tilt our heads in confusion. Chapter 138 That being said, Im counting on you, Hind!(Yumir) Ill be relieved if Hind-san is the one holding the money.(Riizu) When it comes to dodging, Hind-dono is at the same level as me, a ninja, itll be fine!(Tobi) EhI think youll do fine? Hind-kun is a rearguard and I can trust your judgement.(Selene) We are counting on you(Baby Bird members) Heavythe responsibility is too much(Hind) The funds we have prepared between Migratory Bird and Baby Bird this time is 10 million G. For some reason, all of it ended in my inventory. 9 million are from Migratory Bird, Baby Bird contributed 1 million. Baby Bird sold the pillow in the auction for a high price and they bought a plot of land in the agricultural area next to us and they started cultivating there. While we do help them out, Baby Bird has a high income and they have quite a lot of money even though they dont have many members. After withdrawing money from the bank in the Royal Capital of Waaha, we headed towards the stables since it was about time we set off. Maybe because the other players were busy preparing themselves, we could see a lot of activity in the shops on our way there. Even though it would be fine if Cineraria-chan was the one to hold the money from Baby Bird.(Hind) Im sorry. But, I also feel safer if Hind-senpai is the one holding the money instead of me(Sai) Stop whining already, Hind! If the time comes, you just have to ride on top of the Grado Turk and run away!(Yumir) Thats true but(Hind) They are really fast after all. The horses senpais have!(Lyco) I think no other player would have a mount that would be able to catch up to me once I got on top of the Grado Turk. That being said, we decided that I would be riding one of the Grado Turks. Yumir will be riding the other one and it was decided that the rest would be renting theirs. Now that I think about it, what happens to the mount you have when you are incapacited?(Hind) Seems like its teleported to the closest towns stable. Its like the players respawn(Riizu) Ooh, before we noticed, Riizudono has become knowledgeable about the game.(Tobi) Ive taken a look at quite a few walkthrough sites after all. Have I been useful?(Riizu) Thanks, Riizu. In other words, if the time comes, we dont have to worry about our mounts.(Hind) I wouldnt be able to endure it if the Grado Turk was to be stolen after all. If we are not careful, they could even be worth more than 10 million G after allThere are no Fine horses in the market so I cant really compare prices. Having reached the stable in Waaha, we rented 5 horses for 250k and our preparations were complete. We took the reins in our hands and walked towards the towns exit. Seeing them walk side by side like this, you can really tell how huge the Grado Turks are.(Tobi) Senpai, the horses we borrowed are getting frightened, what do we do?(Sai) I guess we have no choice but to let some time pass and have them get used to it. They even made unneeded things like this realistic, jeez. Fine! Make it even more realistic!(Hind) H-Hind-kun, are you OK? Are you perhaps still a bit stressed out?(Selene) Maybe she found my outburst a bit weird, like Selene-san said, walking around with so much money on me was stressing me out. Regarding the Grado Turks, while you couldnt call it twice its size, it was easily 1.5 times the size of a normal horse. First we should let the horses get used to the Grado Turk Furthermore, we let the members of Baby Bird, who had never ridden a horse practice a bit. Shortly after that Well then, lets set off!(Yumir) With Yumirs order, we set off from the Royal Capital of Waaha. Our destination was the Mahl Republics Sepia Water Area. Forming appropriate parties with our eight members, we headed eastward while kicking up the deserts sand. The 1st partys composition was Yumir, Selene-san and me. In order to support Baby Bird, whose members were a few levels behind, were Tobi and Riizu making it a 5 man party. However, I dont think well get into any fights for now with this party. From our current position, well leave Oasis town Maija and head towards Town in the wastelands Baska. This is so boring(Tobi) I dont care if they are some bandits, wont anything show up? Hind.(Yumir) They are saying dangerous stuff. Well become busy once we enter the Mahl Republic, so it should be fine for us to take it easy in the meantime. No no, why do you guys think we purposefully took a route that goes through the Grado Empire? It was because if we went through an area we had already gone through we could just ignore Area Bosses and small fry right?(Hind) The route we are going through right now is one where you have to pass through Heathrow Town in the middle of the Grado Empire and go south. If we circled around the continent we would have to beat the Area Bosses while proceeding. Besides, if we found a boss that would be hard to beat at our current level, we would have to find a way to avoid them and that would be a big time loss. Considering the time until the event starts, I think other players would take a similar route.(Hind) In that case, I wonder if Heathrow is crowded with players again?(Riizu) Riizu said that while skillfully controlling the reins with one hand and fixing her hat with the other. From the information I got from the BBS, horse riding in-game should be easier than it is in real life. However, Riizu is especially skillful at it compared to the other members. Youd think wearing a blackish pointed hat in the desert would be hot, but Riizu hardly ever takes it off. To begin with, you would usually split in the four directions from Heathrow after all. That being the case, I dont think it would be weird. Ah, thats right. Yumir, make sure to wear the mantle you used in the tournament before we enter the village.(Hind) Ehthats such a painId prefer to just boldly walk in.(Yumir) While we were having such a conversation, Siesta-chan, who was swaying left and right unsteadily on top of her horse came over. She was riding at really dangerous angles at times but she was somehow able to not fall down. It looked as if she was doing some acrobatics. You seem to be excluding yourself as if it was a matter of fact, itll be no good if senpai doesnt wear a mantle too you know?(Siesta) Huh? Why?(Hind) Why you saymuh, itll be a pain to explain. Sai, Ill leave the rest to you(Siesta) Leaving after saying that, she reached Lycoris-chans side in the blink of an eye. Being left behind, Cineraria-chan looked dumbfounded. Eh!? Jeez! Hind-senpai, you are more well known among players than you think, so I think that you should properly cover your face and name too. Most likely, I believe Si is trying to say that.(Sai) Is that so?Ah, I guess you might have a point.(Hind) Its been about two weeks since that tournament. Even in the replay video, the vanguards are the ones that usually appear more. When the subject comes up in the BBS, Yumir tends to be the one thats brought up way more too. However, there seems to be threads about me too. It would be problematic if we were to get involved with other players in the village and lose time. That being the case, Ill be wearing a mantle too.(Hind) If we stand out theres the chance that PKs will go after us too, its better to be safe than sorry. Its even more important for people that participate in events often, it wouldnt be weird for them to think that we carry a lot of money on ourselves.(Tobi) In reality thats the case at the moment after all. I know we are being a bit too self-conscious but got it.(Hind) Thats right, Hind! In fact, you should be like me and stand out more! Stand out more! You plain member!(Yumir) You are being noisy!(Hind) What does she even mean by plain member! Besides, we are having a conversation about trying to stand out less. I dont understand why shes saying that I should stand out more! Isnt it wonderful how Nii-san looks plain at first glance!? Yumir-san, you dont understand at all!(Riizu) Riizu, please stop! Its going to become even more complicatedeven though your follow up was questionable, thanks.(Hind) On the contrary, I took even more damage by being called plain a second time. Dont just go further on your own and laugh, Tobi! A-Ahahawell also wear a hood and mantle so you dont feel left out, lets just calmly go into the village. After that, in order for the Grado Turks to not stand out, we should quickly go towards the stable and then well be fine.(Selene) T-Thats right! Thats a good idea!(Hind) As expected of Selene-san, when it comes down to techniques for not standing out, shes first class. Other than that, I cannot help but contain my tears from her kindness to try to change the topic. The only places you can recover the horses stamina is the stable in each village or town. So its not like we can avoid passing through it. Most stables are close to the entrance to the towns so if we go to them directly, we probably wont get noticed. Theres the option of skipping Heathrow and going to Altrowa, but since thats the starting village, the amount of players there should be about the same. After that, I dont know how far the next village or town is, soat the end of the day, we cant avoid Heathrow. Its just that we probably wont need the mantles anymore after we leave Heathrow. After that, everyone will be worrying about themselves.(Hind) All the other famous players will start gathering after all! The Albert father and daughter pair, Herrschaft, Richt and his followers and the like. All of them probably will stand out more than us!(Yumir) I dont believe theres someone that uses an avatar that stands out more than you though(Hind) A character thats surrounded by an aura made of lightning.theres no one with something like that. Thinking like that, if they dont reward the Heros Aura again, finding the player called Yumir in this game will become the easiest thing to do. Well, if you mean in the sense that the attention will be divided between us you are correct. If thats the case, lets just be careful in Heathrow?(Hind) Yeah Everyone gave uninterested replies. Its true that traveling in this game can be a bit boringIm getting sleepy. As long as we dont do it often, I dont mind enjoying the scenery like this though. Eventually the desert disappeared and we were surrounded by the wastelands. Chapter 139 Soa slight change moving forward. Decided to switch Hero to Yuusha for Yumirs nickname. Makes more sense since Im using Maou instead of something like Demon Lord for Maou-chan. Been planning to change it for a while but I always kept it as Hero for consistency sake since I already wrote it like that from the beginning. However, it just doesnt sound right whenever I type Hero-chan and the like. Translated quite a lot of the series sogoing back and changing all mentions of Hero from the beginning would be too much work so Ill just switch it from now onwards. Enjoy the chapter. Having successfully entered Heathrow Town without standing out, we were startled at the bizarre sight. There were quite a lot of players, but what surprised us was how they looked. Wow. Everyone is golden and they are glittering(Lyco) Lyco, dont stand there with your mouth wide open.(Sai) As youd expect, they are dazzling.(Tobi) Kukuku, they are so lame!(Yumir) Hey, stop that! What are you going to do if they hear you?(Hind) Sure enough, if you were to think about what happened to the large amount of golden gear that was sold in last events auction The players that didnt want to throw them away decided to just sell them for really cheap prices in the trading BBS. If we were to speak about their performance, it was rather high, while it would be unsatisfactory for high level vanguards, they were more than good enough for beginners and players in the middle. When I explained the details, Riizu, who had her doubts, nodded in understanding. In other words, they are really popular as some sort of filler gear right?(Riizu) Thats the case. As youd expect, maybe because they care about the looks, there are not many female players that wear them.(Hind) Well, that would be the case. They are flashy and embarrassing to wear(Selene) Selene-san was the one that criticized them for being too flashy and embarrassing. I cant see both of their faces and I cant call them by their names either, its rather annoying to differentiate between them. Anyway, since thats the case, because of how cheap golden gear was, there were more players than we thought wearing them. But, Heathrow is so nostalgic! Its been a while since we last came here!(Yumir) The location for the first event was here after all. The place we gathered at, I believe it was this pub?(Hind) The pub the senpais used!? It sounds really cool for some reason! I want to look at the interior!(Lyco) Eh?(Hind) Now that I think about it, senpai. Our hunger gauge has decreased. Should we go and eat something?(Sai) Here? Well, but(Hind) I mean, we are wearing hoods and mantles so we dont stand out and its fine at the moment, but wouldnt it be better for us to find some other place? Thats what I thought of saying, but everyone looked tired. In actuality I think it would be better for us to take a break buthmm. Shall we rest here then?(Hind) When I asked that, Siesta-chan and Lycoris-chan started to nod. The former was clearly tired but the latter was obviously just interested in the place. In that case, be quiet. Other than that, just to make sure, dont call each other by your names.(Hind) Yes!(Lyco) Yes.(Siesta) Thinking about it, we should have rested and eaten in the Town in the wastelands, Baska. Because I was being naive after listening to the opinion of the two members of Baby Bird, shortly after, we went through something terrible. The source of the problem was the one least suited for covert operations, our noisy Guild Master. Once we entered the pub, we were eating while still having the robes covering our faces but Yumirs silver hair was protruding from her robe as she ate her pasta and then it happened. Ah. She grasped the hood with her hand and pulled it. Yumir revealed her face to her surroundings in one go. We were taken aback. For reference, as you would be able to tell from how crowded the town was, the inside of the pub was also filled with people. Yumirs silver hair was glittering and while reflecting the illumination inside the store, it was shown. It would be one thing if it happened to another member, but it had to be- Yu- Once one person noticed, it turned into a chain reaction. Like a domino effect, the reactions spread throughout the store. Excluding Yumir, we all stood up at once and took a stance to run away. Immediately after taking Yumir by the arm and forcing her to stand up. Its Yuusha-chan!! Its Yumir-chan(san)!! An unspeakable amount of people started to talk to Yumir. What the hell are you doing, you idiot! We are running away!(Hind) S-Sorry!!(Yumir) Maybe it was because this is a game, if this was real life, people would usually have some reservations about it but the people here were getting closer to us. While evading the rude people that were trying to catch Yumir with their hands, we escaped outside the store. Just when I thought we would be safe here Yuusha-chan! Please participate in the next event with me! Exchange friend requests with me. Isnt the True Self next to her? Is he that disguised one!? I dont know whats going on but catch them!! Yeah! Leave it to me! Alright! Whats going on? Some kind of event? On top of chasing after us outside the store, there were even people that got carried away and joined them even when they didnt know what was going on. This is bad! I put the hood over Yumirs head and shouted at Tobi, who was at the front. Run!(Hind) Like that, I took Siesta-chans hand, who was the slowest one of us and started to run while pulling her. Senpai, senpai. Wouldnt this make it a dine and dash?(Siesta) We paid for it in advance! Stop worrying about that kind of thing and start running towards the stable! (Hind) Yumir-dono, you dummy! What a blockhead!(Tobi) Unrefined! You boob monster!(Riizu) Nuguh! I cant even talk backwait, Riizu, you! You just called me a monster while at it didnt you!? Im just the perfect size!(Yumir) Well, from Riizus point of viewor rather, that kind of thing doesnt matter right now! We ran through the middle of Heathrow Town with all our might. I wrapped Siesta-chan in my arms since she ran out of stamina towards the middle and was somehow able to slide into the stable. Hah, hahu-uncle! Where are our horses!?(Hind) Hmm? O-oh. I finished giving them food and water, also the massage. Hah, fuh, everyone climb up! Cough! Come on, you too Siesta-chan.(Hind) Sure thing.(Siesta) After placing Siesta-chan on top of the horse while she was still wrapped in my arms, I hurriedly climbed on top of my Grado Turk. As a result of leaving the town noisily and running around the field S-Seems like we have thrown them off, Hind-kun.(Selene) We missed our chance to recover our hunger gauges huhfuh.(Hind) Y-Yumir-senpai(Lyco) SorryIm really sorry.(Yumir) As youd expect, even Lycoris-chan said those words. Nonetheless, I doubt theyll go as far as to leave the town and chase after us Just how much do those guys like Yumir? Though there were some people that just took advantage of the situation to make some noise. Nah, it was also my fault. At the end of the day, it was me the one that gave the OK to go inside the pub(Hind) Dont apologize, Hind! My honor will be gone! Im very sorry, everyone!(Yumir) !?(Hind) Yumir jumped off her horse and took the posture to prostrate on the ground. Seeing that, I ran towards her with my Grado Turk and caught her. Uwoh! Both of my arms are tearing off!! What the hell are you doing!? Dont just go and take fall damage for no reason!(Hind) Uuhb-but(Yumir) W-We dont really mind anymore, Yumir-san. See? Everyone thinks the same right?(Selene) Everyone was dumbfounded at Yumirs eccentric behavior and they awkwardly nodded when they listened to Selene-sans words. Once she realized what was going on, I dropped Yumir as gently as I could on the grassy fields. Gueh! That hurts!(Yumir) Its better than falling directly on the ground right!? Dont complain!(Hind) My arms were at their limits. Somehow, Yumir didnt take any fall damage and we were able to continue without wasting time. Hmmm? Grassy field? Ah, right. These are the Homa Plainsonce I checked in the menu, we were currently in the southern side of the Homa Plains. Heathrow was in a straight line northwards so we had run quite far. A few minutes later. Having taken off our robes, we rushed further south on our horses. In regard to our full hunger gauges, we settled that by giving everyone the food I carried with me. It goes without saying butit would have been better to do this from the start. Because the village and the pub were so nostalgic I was in a very festive mood and didnt realize this before. As usual, since we didnt have time, we recovered our hunger while traveling. The pasta became a hot dogbut its tasty!(Yumir) I wonder whose fault it was!? That being said, you sure have recovered fast(Tobi) Like this, we can eat while moving after all. Though Im getting a bit sick from all the shaking.(Hind) Yup, this is tasty. We are going to leave the plains soon, Hind-kun.(Selene) Secchan, are you able to see the border of this field? Thats amazing. After that, there will be a field where PKing is enabled so lets be careful. The members of Baby Bird should too.(Riizu) Yes!(Lyco) Yes.(Sai) Sure(Siesta) There are two exits in the southern area of the plains. One of them leads to Altrowa Village, the starting point where the visitors appear through the summoning gate. The other one is the one we are taking today which leads to the Patria Mountain Range. The level of the enemies suddenly jumps to level 25 or thereabouts, the beginners would usually not get close to this area and head towards the northern side instead. Once we entered the Patria Mountain Range, excluding the Grado Turks, the rental horses legs became dull. As expected, even if they are good at traveling through the plains, its hard for a normal horse to travel through the mountainssince the Grado Turks are fine, they are a special case. The Patria Mountain Range had a lot of trees and the climate was pleasant, but due to the abrupt inclination, it was hard to move around. We continued moving while dealing with the mushroom like monsters and eventuallywe exited to an area that had a lot of boulders. Oh, this place gives the feeling that there will be a boss monster. After all, the areas where there are bosses tend to be quite wide.(Hind) Oh? Hind, theres a party over there thats fighting.(Yumir) Theres a woman flying!?Oh? Wrong, thats(Tobi) Its a Harpy!!(Hind and Yumir) Me and Yumir shouted at the same time. Then we looked at each other and had an awkward smile on our faces. I messed upso embarrassing. The head and the chest are those of a woman, but the rest are those of a bird. The composition of the party in front of us is of: a Heavy Warrior, a Knight, a Light Warrior, a Shinto Priest and another Shinto priest. 5 people total. Uwahthats tragic. Since they dont have any means to deal long range attacks the situation is gradually getting worse.(Riizu) For attacks they are aiming at those moments when she comes to the ground, but its hard(Selene) Riizu and Selene-san murmured. In our case, we can just have an archer in both of our parties and well make do somehow. For normal monsters in the fields, you can usually steal the aggro but when it comes to boss monsters, unrelated players are not able to help. Attacks other than those from the party are rendered ineffective and attacks and healing towards the party that is fighting are also rendered useless. If the party doesnt have 5 members, its possible to join in the middle of the fight like I did back then with the Gigantic Buffalo. Its possible to request help until you reach the party limit. -They are coming! Prepare yourselves!(Yumir) From the direction that Yumir warned us about, another pair of Harpies were approaching. We separated in two groups and dismounted in a safe spot. Then we prepared our weapons to deal against the half bird half human enemies that were flying towards us. Chapter 140 Selene-san!(Hind) !(Selene) If I had to speak from the result, we had no trouble at all fighting the Harpy. After a Blast Arrow buffed by Attack Up, the Harpys HP was gone. Its lv 28 after allon top of that, it seems like its stats lean toward speed and attack. When Yumir dealt a counter, she shaved off a lot of its HP in a single attack. After being penetrated by the bolt with high offensive power, the Harpy fell to the ground and its body dispersed in particles of light. Good work everyone. If we are fighting a low lv opponent, we have an easy even with only 3 people huh?(Hind) After I said that, both of them sheathed their weapons and came over. Secchans accuracy is amazing?(Yumir) Thats not the case at all. Its because Yumir-san does a great job at attracting the monsters.(Selene) Is that so? I guess thats right! Wahahaha!(Yumir) You sure are a happy fellow(Hind) She gets this happy after being complemented after all. Im sort of jealous of it, but not at the same time. When I shifted my gaze towards a spot a bit further away where sounds of fighting were coming, I saw that the Baby Bird partys fight was also in its final stage. The plan is for Tobi and Riizu not to help out more than its needed, after Riizu places debuffs on the monster they just support them only when its necessary. If Riizu used darkness magic she would be able to stop the monster in its tracks and they would immediately be able to finish it off butthat kind of playing style wouldnt be fun. Lyco, Im ready to go!(Sai) Got it, Ill fall back.(Lyco) Let disrupting it to me.(Siesta) The pattern the girls used to obtain victory was using Arrow Rain on the Harpy directly after releasing the light element magic Heavens Ray. As expected of the coordination between those three, its beautiful. The Harpy was pierced by the multitude of arrows and turned into a hedgehog and then vanished. They sheathed their weapons and Cineraria-chan was the first one to rush over here. Hind-senpai. With the help of both of them, we were able to safely finish the fight.(Sai) OK. A breakI guess we dont need it? Alright, lets just proceed then.(Hind) When I looked at everyones expressions, their mood had changed because they had gone into a fight and looked as if they had energy to spare. Traveling was boring and since the situation had changed they felt a bit of relief. I guess we can only play for around 2-3 hours more tonight. We should proceed smoothly and try to get as close to the sea as possible. Hind, Hind!(Yumir) What is it?(Hind) Once I tried going towards the horses we left a bit further away from the place we fought at, Yumir pulled me from the hems of my clothes. Then she pointed with her finger towards another place, when I followed with my gazethe party that was fighting before we started fighting the Harpies was still there. Even though the HP bar of the Harpy was still over 50%, they were already running out of breath. So those guys are still fighting(Yumir) Seems to be a mid lv party thats around lv 25.(Hind) Save us! They are asking for help though.(Yumir) If we could join I wouldnt really mind helping them butunfortunately, they are already a 5 man party. If you have any complains, tell the developers that created such a system.(Hind) You monster! You are being called a monster though?(Yumir) Tsk. Lets not make eye contact with them and get away. Theres nothing we can do.(Hind) True Self, you are useless! Shut up, you idiots, idiots! You should just go and get wiped-ah(Hind) Dont mind it, Hind.(Yumir) That Heavy Warrior, hes clearly someone that is from the BBS. He noticed who we were after allsigh. Anyway, I dont even feel sorry for them anymore, so I got on the Grado Turk and we left that place. After that we left the mountains, crossed a river and made progress by crossing a bridge. In terms of difficulty, it was easier than the time we went towards the Royal Capital of Waaha in Sala. We were able to safely reach the Mahl Republic. We have recently passed through two villages in the Mahl Republic, the next one will finally be the port, which is our destination. The Mahl Republic is formed from the linkage of multiple islands via bridges, originally, each island was its own countryor so is the setting. Even now, we are crossing a huge wooden bridge that connects the islands. Fuh, we sure ran all over the place. Only a bit further! Unlike the desert, this is some invigorating heat.(Tobi) The smell of the sea breezeas expected of how they recreate stuff. The sea is emerald green and is so pretty.(Riizu) But since its emerald green as far as our eyes can see, wouldnt that mean that we wont be able to fish tuna unless we go further in the open sea?(Hind) Hearing my words, Riizu made a gesture as if she was thinking for a split second and replied like this. Lets see. If its emerald green it means that the seawateris low in plankton and also the depth is shallow. As expected, we will probably have to go a certain distance into the open sea.(Riizu) This area is very shallow after all. It would be perfect to play on the beach butwell need a ship after all.(Hind) Beach!? Playing!? There was that option! De-degozaru!(Tobi) W-Whats wrong? Tobi-kun.(Selene) Ah, nothingHind-dono! Hind-dono! Over here!(Tobi) Tobi was calling me over with his hand so I broke rank and approached him on my horse. Then our heads got closer to each other and Tobi said this in a low voice. Hind-dono! Swimsuits!(Tobi) Huh? Swimsuits?(Hind) What is this guy even saying? We should make some swimsuits and play around on the beach before the event starts! Its going to be fun for sure!(Tobi) Yup. I can see that playing around is just a cover up. What are you scheming?(Hind) I want to look at girls wearing swimsuits! Even though its just a coincidence, we have such a high lv line up here and I cant even look at them! It would be a waste to let such a perfect chance let go!(Tobi) Are you an idiot?(Hind) You(in English), you call yourself a man!?(Tobi) Thats not the issue here. Are you asking me to go around asking everyones size to make them? I refuse. Before we even talk about if its possible or not, theyll look at me with cold gazes.(Hind) Even if they are not arranged, theres the chance that blueprints exist right!?(Tobi) I wonder if swimsuit blueprints exist If they existed and the size adjustment system worked, its true that there would be no need to ask their sizes. No, wait a moment? Theres also the possibility that the NPC shops in the port sell them?(Tobi) You sure are persistent. Where is that enthusiasm even coming from? You, werent you satisfied a while back with Maou-chan?(Hind) I have another stomach for this!(Tobi) Arent you the worst!?(Hind) In that case, lets have a bet! If blueprints really exist, Ill have you make 6 of them! On top of that, youll have to skillfully convince everyone to wear them! Same thing if they are being sold!(Tobi) I see. So, what happens if theres none? Theres no betting if theres no conditions for both sides.(Hind) Eh? EhIll treat you to the most expensive coffee in Wacchis cafe!(Tobi) Alright, Im in!(Hind) Ah! Wait, that one doesnt count!(Tobi) I wont wait!(Hind) Ah!?(Tobi) I wont really tell him to buy a Black Ivory, but Ill have him treat me to a slightly expensive coffee if I win. That being said, Ill check the sewing set and see if the blueprint exists when we reach the port. Then, we finally reached the boss fight in Cresciente Coast right before our objective, Notos Port. The opponent was lv 35 and called Fortis Pagurus. It was an hermit crab. Eat thiiiiiis!(Yumir) Yumirs Burst Edge pierced through the hermit crabs shell. The magic power imbued in the blade ran throughout the shell and in the next momentthe shell and its contents exploded. Since it had been a while since she had this feeling of using a powerful skill, Yumir was smiling in delight as she put away her sword. Alright, its over! How are things over there? Hind.(Yumir) Just a bit longerah, its over. Surprisingly, Lycoris-chan was the one to deal the killing blow this time.(Hind) -Surprisingly you say, Hind-senpai you meanie! I can do it when it counts too!(Lyco) Ah, my bad. You heard me? But, I really think its amazing how you were able to finish it off even though you are a defense type.(Hind) Ehen!(Lyco) Lyco, wasnt that critical hit just a coincidence? It was a fluke.(Siesta) What are you saying!? Si-chaaaan!!(Lyco) While we were having such a back and forth, suddenly, a change happened in our surroundings. A large number of arrows and throwing knives suddenly flew towards us from the thicket. Because Tobi, me and Selene-san, who was close by, were coincidentally looking in that direction were able to pull the members around us and we lay on the beach. That was dangerous! Buheh!? Whats going on!?(Yumir) Be careful! Theres something over there!(Hind) Staring at the place where the attacks came from, people started to appear one after another from within the treesthats right, not monsters but people. On top of that, their names were the same, they were of orange color which indicated that they had a criminal record in-game. The masked players were silent and they clearly released their evil intent towards us. Then the PK army, made of ten people, took out their weapons at the same time and leaped towards us. Chapter 141 Delay brought to you by laziness and lack of motivation. Before we get into the chapter. I left a term that appears in this chapter in Japanese because I wasnt really sure how to properly translate it. The term is ΤƼ (Sutegamari). From some quick research, it appears to be a strategy (Though its hard to call it one) that was used back in the Sengoku period. Its hard to call it one because from my understanding it was basically throwing small squads of soldiers towards the enemy in order delay and hold them off while the high ranking officers or leaders escaped. Basically sacrifices. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and Ill see you next time. These guys, they were aiming for the moment where they were able to attack us after the field boss was defeated! Since it was judged that we had been attacked by other players, the words Attacking is enabled appeared in our vision written in blue letters. Vanguards to the front!(Hind) Yeah!(Yumir) Understood!(Tobi) Y-Yes!(Lyco) Yumir swept her sword sideways, Tobi took out his two blades and Lycoris wielded her shield and they came forward. Having come to this, even if we counterattack and defend ourselves, in the case that we defeat them, it wont count as PK. Like I did when we started playing the game, I was fine even when I MPKd that other player. We were able to somehow endure through the ambush, which is a PKs biggest advantage butthe information of the players that attacked us came into view. Its impossible to hide your name if it has turned orange. This is badRiizu, what do you think?(Hind) Yes. This is not looking good.(Riizu) What is not looking good!? Obviously, we just have to beat them up and proceed forward right!?(Yumir) Dont be stupid, think about the difference in numbers! On top of that, their levels are around the same as ours.(Hind) Muh(Yumir) As youd expect with the level cap having been raised not long ago, its not like they have reached level cap. From a quick glance, there were some in the early or mid 40s and the rest were in the 30s. They looked like a genuine PK Guild. Making sure that the sea wasnt behind us, we slowly grouped together while backing away and looked for a chance to run away. Luckily, they still hadnt surrounded us. Hind-senpai. Judging from that first attack, in this case, the party limitations(Sai) They dont matter. Thats why they group up in teams of 5, right now, its like a genuine 8 vs 50.(Hind) Cineraria-chan asked me in a hurry while releasing arrows. Though the number 50 was just because PKs are under the same restrictions as normal guilds. Actually, I think they roughly have that number from a quick glance. The guild name that was displayed was Nights Edge. Its just that when they pair up in the field. They have to share the experience and bonuses between each party , can only see their own party members information and they have to challenge bosses with each party. Even though we were attacked by PKs, its not like we can fight each party 1 by 1 like we do with field bosses. Tobi! Plan C!(Hind) Oh!? Is that so, guess theres no choice. Ill prepare it right away!(Tobi) Did everyone hear me!?(Tobi) Everyone nodded at my words. I expected PKs to attack us, so I prepared a few strategies beforehand. Plan C is one thats used when running awayso, I released a Shining towards the enemy archers eyes. It was a direct hit. The archers rubbed their eyes while their shooting posture crumbled. Then, before we got surrounded, Tobi took out certain items from his inventory and threw them. The first one was a bo-hiya, it was thrown at the grouped up enemies to deal some damage and also to stop the rearguards with its strong knockback effect. Riizu used Fireball, Cineraria-san Double Shot, Selene-san Strong Shot and Siesta-chan and me used Shining at the same time. In this situation, we dont have the leisure to use long casting time magic or skills that leave us wide open. After using the Bo-hiya, Tobi threw the new item towards his own feet. The ball split and white smoke started to cover the surroundings. To the horses!(Hind) They should be able to understand with just these words. I made a circle with a pair of fingers and blew strongly while placing them inside my mouth. Pyuu! After a strong ringing sound, the sound of horse hooves could be heard within the smoke. This is a game system, it has the function of calling the mount you have previously ridden towards you when you whistle through your fingers but Fyuu! Buuh! Pufuh! Pihyu! The sound is not coming off!? You guys, the sound is not coming off properly! Its made so everyone should be able to do it so I told you guys to practice until you could do it!(Hind) Hind-kun, if you shout like that they are going to be able to tell our position!(Selene) Though I can understand how Hind-san feels. Sigh, such lack of discipline(Riizu) Eh, Im sorry. About those two(Sai) Since those two idiots from our group are the same, dont mind it.(Hind) Only four out of eight were able to properly whistle. In reality, it should have been made easier to whistle in game than it is in real life butthis is just terrible Even though everyone was able to do it when we had practiced previously. Regardless, since we have been able to call half of them, we decided to ride in pairs and got closer to those idiots that couldnt call their horses. That hurts!(Hind) What happened, Hind!?(Yumir) My shoulder started to hurt-wait, what the heck is this!?(Hind) Hes been stabbed, hes been stabbed! Theres a knife protruding from his shoulder!(Yumir) Yumir, who was riding in front of me, shouted as she turned around. What should I do with this knife!? When it comes to arrows, they disappear as soon as you pull them out butoh, it disappeared along with the blood. Just when I thought that, poison status!? It was a poisoned knife!? Are you serious!? These guys are not messing around!(Yumir) Since they are not saying a single word it makes them scary as hell! -Adah! An Arrow!(Tobi) In a certain way, you could say they are more ninjaish than Tobi in this case. However, to be fine even if you have an arrow sticking out of your headas expected of a game. These guys, given their actions until now, it would be better to call them a group of assassins like their guild name states instead of mountain thieves. Hind-san!(Riizu) Having instantly noticed my condition, Riizu threw an antidote at me. The bottle broke and I was successfully detoxified as a light effect enveloped my body. Thanks! We arrived Yumir, hurry up and get on top of the other one!(Hind) Yeah!(Yumir) Yumir energetically leaped from the horse and went towards the other Grado Turk and jumped on top of it. I mean, its true that I told her to hurry up butas youd expect, even a Grado Turk would complain if you were to suddenly crash onto his back. Then, I used Attack Up on Yumir. Alright, go and rampage! Though remember-(Hind) I should retreat if my HP goes under 50% right!? I know!(Yumir) Other than that, just in case, dont forget to switch to your sub gear! If you dont want to end up crying later that is!(Hind) Umu, Ill get going! ..Ah, thats right. Leave this to-(Yumir) Just get going! Is this the time to be saying that!?(Hind) Yumir chose a different set of equipment from what she usually wore. As a result, the gear she was wearing changed instantly. The appearance was similar butthe process of making them and their performance could be called a failed product (According to Selene-san). However, the rank was still first-rate +1 or +2. Are these failed products? Immediately after Yumir ran off with the Grado Turk, the smoke was blown away by the sea breeze. Ah, they are riding horses too! Yumir is going to buy us some time! Everyone, hurry up and get on top of your horses!(Hind) Maybe because the rank of their horses were all over the place, there was a big difference between the moving speed of each other To think that they would have gathered so many horses, as expected, choosing to run away was the best choice. With a longsword in hand, Yumir rushed towards the enemies. Whoa, after bumping into one of their horses, the horse was blown away easilyas expected, the Grado Turks are the best! Hind-dono, thinking about it, doesnt this make it a Sutegamari?(Tobi) But, shes the one that said that she would take the rear in this situation. Besides, even if she gets surrounded, shed be able to do something about it with her Grado Turkmaybe. Its not like we are abandoning her so its definitely not Sutegamari!(Hind) And thats how senpai tried to convince himself.(Siesta) UuuhI-I did nothing wrong! Its not my fault! Shes the one that said shed do it!(Hind) Well, this is a game after all. Even if that person fails, its not like shes really going to die. Theres no need for Hind-san to worry about her.(Riizu) Riizu-chan is acting coldly. Or you could say that she has no leniency towards Yumir-san.(Selene) Yumir-san, please stay safe(Lyco) Ah, thanks to Yumir-senpai our pursuers have slowed down. We might be able to get away at this rate.(Sai) Like that, we successfully escaped towards Cresciente Coast. A few minutes later, Yumir returned to the previous town we passed through called Town of Canaris with her body numb and on the verge of death. Yumir was in a state where she couldnt move but the Grado Turk she was riding was in perfect condition. Hindheal mebecause of the numbness and my low stamina I cant move(Yumir) Wait a moment, Ill heal you right away!(Hind) Ooh, she really came back alive! Even though shes Yumir-dono!(Tobi) Tobi, Ill kill you lateruuh(Yumir) She really did well to come back alive. I first cured her numbness and then started to heal her HP. The moment the treatment started, Yumir immediately went back to being cheerful. However, we cant really proceed like this After Yumirs treatment was over, we went to a restaurant in the town to discuss countermeasures while we rested. We left the horses in the stable. I think theyll still be there even if we went and tried again, I guess we might need to take another route after all.(Hind) When I stated that, Yumir stood up while vigorously hitting the table. The soup looked as if it was going to spill over. Huh? I refuse! I wont be satisfied until I beat those guys to a pulp and proceed!(Yumir) I know how you feel. However, how many people did you defeat back then?(Hind) Guh! son.(Yumir) Hmm?(Hind) One person! One! Gunununu.on top of that, he was revived instantly after that! I was only able to defeat one of them with Burst Edge! Damn it!(Yumir) Right? We would have to go past that wall of people, then defeat the Shinto Priests on the backafter that we would exterminate the rest. That would be the ideal scenario but it would be hard to do with only eight people.(Hind) Is there no other way!?(Yumir) If you wanted to win with a small group, you would usually aim for their leader butsince no one is saying anything, we dont know who their leader is. Besides, since its not like an official PvP duel, even if we were to defeat the Shinto Priests, they can still revive with Holy Water. I cant see a way to win this.(Hind) I guess this is the limits we have with our low number of peoplein that case, as expected-(Tobi) Ah!(Selene) Selene-san, who was sitting in front of me, suddenly raised her voice in surprise. Seems like shes looking towards something right behind methen, I felt something touching my shoulder. Who is it? As I turned around while thinking thata male wearing japanese clothing and had his hair tied into a knot had his hand raised in our direction and smiled at us. Mitsuyoshi-san!?(Hind) Hey, been a while. Ive come to get you. People of Migratory Bird and Baby Bird.(Mitsuyoshi) Chapter 142 I decided to leave a couple guild names in Japanese because it seemed more appropriate considering the Japanese theme the guild leaders are going for. Besides they sound a bit better than what the words are translated into. First one is Mitsuyoshis guild C (Rin), literal translation would be cold/frigid. Next one is Masamunes guild (Takumi), which could literally mean craftsman/artisan. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. Mitsuyoshi-san took an empty seat and sat down on our table and the first thing he said was this. I have a grasp of whats going on. You are being stopped by PKs right?(Mitsuyoshi) You knew about them?(Hind) Mitsuyoshi-san is a player that has set the Mahl Republic as his main home. During the tournament, it seems like he met up with Tobi in the Empire and then they participated together. On top of that, he seems to know about the PKs running rampart. Yeah. There are PKs gathering here and there, this is the vicinity that has the worst public order. The truth is that we were planning to gather in Cresciente Coast, but it took a while for my guild members to gather here. Good grief, those guys.(Mitsuyoshi) After he said that, Mitsuyoshi pointed towards the entrance to the shop with his thumb. Wondering what kind of people his guild members were, I took a peek at them. Huh? Whats with that person wearing Miko vestments and a fox maskshes waving in this direction though, she gives quite the strange presence. Did you pass through the coast? Its impressive that you were able to do so safely.(Tobi) Oh, it seems like theres some misunderstanding here. Its true that there are more PKs nowadays, but the guys of Nights Edge that attacked you were a PK guild from these parts to begin with. Since they already know us(Mitsuyoshi) Even though they have the word Night in their name they attack in the middle of the day? Not like I care though.(Tobi) Leaving aside Tobis retort, so those guys were a PK guild from Mahl huh? Even though I have hardly seen any PKs in Salayou can see the difference of players between each region. However, if its like that I can understand. In other words, in order to not fight against big guilds, they avoid them?(Hind) Correct. I wanted to have a talk regarding that. By the way, would it be correct to assume that Hind-kun is the representative of both guilds?(Mitsuyoshi) No, our representative is this one.(Hind) While denying Mitsuyoshis claim, I signaled towards Yumir with my hand. Yumir immediately did a Hm? face and subsequently nodded in confusion. O-Oh, that would be me! If you have something to say, lets hear you out!(Yumir) I see, its a choice that sounds like you guys. In that case, lets have Yumir-chan as your representative and have her hear out our proposal.(Mitsuyoshi) That being said, its not like Mitsuyoshi-san is only going to bring Yumir with him to have talks. Simply said, you could say that him speaking to a representative is some sort of courtesy. At times like this, you can feel that hes an adultits an example that we should follow. The proposition we got from Mitsuyoshi-san was as follows. Could we go back to Cresciente Coast and lure out Nights Edge one more time? Or something like that. Thinking that the good players in the vicinity are also bothered by the PKs, Mitsuyoshi-san and co thought that we should beat them up one time at least. According to his instructions, first, we should go by ourselves to Cresciente Coast and engage in battle with Nights Edge again. Second, so that they dont stay on guard, Mitsuyoshi-sans guild will depart from the village Half a minute later. Third, theyll quickly join us and well beat them in one goin short, we will act as bait to lure out the PKs. The objective is to endure until Mitsuyoshi-san and co arrive, will we be able to do it? Alright, well do it!(Yumir) And Yumir-chan replies instantly like that. Is it really OK?(Mitsuyoshi) Seeing Yumirs reaction, Mitsuyoshi-san shifted his gaze towards me. Ahafter pondering for a bit, I nodded while having a difficult expression. The truth is, we did run away a while back-(Hind) We didnt run away! That was just changing our route to go backwards!(Yumir) All she obtained after returning to this village was frustration. So, you could say that this is a godsend.(Hind) Fundamentally, you could say that she hates to lose. Mitsuyoshi smiled at my words and then looked at the other members. Im also frustrated! Thats why, I agree with Yumir-senpai!(Lyco) Consequently, Lycoris-chan stood up. Fumu. Its that even I, Im not the type that likes to just be defeated without doing anythingthe only time Ill be defeated and not retaliate will be when my opponent is Hind-san.(Riizu) Gyaa! Riizu-dono is scary! Im sorry, Ill apologize so dont glare at me like that!(Tobi) Riizu stated calmly with eyes filled with frustration. Seems like the members are leaning towards getting revenge on the PKs on their own accord. Then, we arrived at Cresciente Coast yet again. According to Mitsuyoshi-san, if they were to be on guard and didnt appear, he wouldnt mind if we just went to Port Notos. He was able to gather around thirty members after all. Though, if it was possible, I would prefer if they just forgave us and let us pass. Japanese Style Guild Rin, thats the name of the guild Mitsuyoshi-san acts as guild master in. The requirement for joining is to always wear Japanese style clothing, only that prerequisite. The number of members is the current cap, 50. There was also the crafting specialized guild Takumi, this was another huge guild focused on crafting that they have allied themselves with. The guild master for this one was Masamune-shi. Thinking about it, its a wonder how a small guild like ours was able to form a temporary alliance with such big guilds. This is the time to show our strength! We have to show them that well be useful even if we lack the numbers!(Yumir) Yeah!(Lyco) Dont overdo it, itll be sad if the enemies dont show up, everything in moderation.(Hind) Dont go spilling cold water on my motivation! If I say they are going to come out, they will!(Yumir) Thats right, thats right!(Lyco) Lycoris-chan has completely changed into some sort of little sister of Yumir. However, I wonder if theyll show upsince its technically our second time, we are hurrying up with our horses so they dont attack us. Mitsuyoshi-san said that if the opponents were ten people or less, Nights Edge would definitely attack. That being said, if they attack us or not will depend on if they notice that something strange is going on or not. Anyway, lets run past without stopping. If they see that we are trying to force our way through with speed, itll be hard for them to think that something odd is going on even if we have come back in such a short time.(Hind) Hind-dono, you are such a worrywart. Their side should be the same as ours, they are probably frustrated that they were unable to kill us so itll be fine! Even if they act as if they are silent, inside they should be the same us.(Tobi) Is that so? If I was a PK, I would never use a plan against the same opponent twice.(Hind) On the contrary, regardless if a plan has gone well or not, I would change the location each time. Now that I think about it, do PKs have their own territories? I never thought about it. Hind-dono as the leader of a PK guild? I wouldnt want him as my opponent!(Tobi) Muh? Hind is going to become a PK?(Yumir) Yumir cut into the conversation having only heard part of our conversation. Me as a PK huhI dont desire such stimulation. No, no way. It was a what if scenario.(Hind) Oh, thats a relief. If that was the case, I would have to beat you up in order to rehabilitate you after all! That would be a pain!(Yumir) Even if Hind-san becomes a PK, Ill follow you wherever you go, you know?(Riizu) T-Thanks?(Hind) I didnt know if that was the right thing to say but I could only express my gratitude towards both of their contrastive replies. At that moment, Selene-san, who was staying vigilant of the area in front of us, raised her hand. ! If she felt that there was something wrong, we had decided beforehand that she should give a signal for us to run at full speed once she raised her hand. From now on, we stopped talking, leaned forward and grasped the reins. Me and Yumir were taking the rear since we were riding the Grado Turks, we matched the speed of the common horse the other members were riding and accelerated gradually. Then, when we got close to the exit of Cresciente Coast, that happened. Nuoooh!? My horse!!(Tobi) Tobi was riding at the front and his horse was pierced by multiple arrows and its posture crumbled. Like that, the horse fell over throwing Tobi tumbling towards the sandy beach, then he stood up immediately. Ooh! That was rather ninja-like, unexpectedly. Tobi, over here! Get on!(Hind) Kuh, the penalty for rental horsesdamn you, I wont forgive you!(Tobi) If a rented horse dies, theyll just respawn in the last village/town you passed through. Its just that, you have to pay extra depending on the times they have died when you return them. This is part of the game system and itll force you to pay from the money in your possession or the money in your banks soit gets pretty expensive if they die a lot. I rushed towards Tobi on my Grado Turk and had him ride behind me, then I sped up again. However, Nights Edge acted as a wall obstructing the road. Damn it, we failed! Counterattack!(Hind) Our plan to force our way through failed, I used my body and voice to say that to everyone. However, this was all part of the plan. Mitsuyoshi-san and co guessed that we would be stopped around this part, so they should probably rush to help us in no time. Until then, well fight a battle of endurance against this many opponents. Chapter 143 Theres a line this chapter that mentions seven misfortunes and eight pains. After some research I found out that it refers to Yamanaka Yukimori but since Im too lazy to try to explain everything Ill just copy-paste and excerpt so you know what the line meant. There is a famous anecdote of Yukimori praying under a crescent moon, vowing to endure Seven Misfortunes and Eight Pains (a Buddhist term of hardship) in exchange for realizing his desire to revive the Amago clan. Enjoy the chapter. The base of our strategy this time around is to fight while riding on our horses and give priority to not getting surrounded. In a certain way, you could say their plan to aim at Tobis horse from the start was good. Dorya! (Hind) !! By ramming my Grado Turk into the other person, his horse was blown away. This is quite fun! It felt like I was riding a heavy tank. This shows just how much of a difference there is between a Grado Turk and a normal horse. Take this as an extra!(Tobi) Then, towards the horse that had fallen over, Tobi threw kunais at it. These ones gave a status ailment called Deadly Poison. They were smeared with highly concentrated poison. The horse was on the verge of death and since the opponent didnt have enough time to heal it, it disappeared. Like this, we kept getting rid of their mobility. Anyway, we didnt stop and just kept going forward. If we get closer to them, theyll try to avoid having friendly fire and will not use long range attacks. Hahaha! Look at this difference in mobility! Do your best to try to catch me!(Yumir) Yumir slashed at the opponents horse when they passed by each other with her longsword. The most important fact for this strategy is the system of If the HP of your mount is gone, itll get transferred to the nearest stable. If you heal the mount, its possible for them to remain, but since corpses dont remain, its not possible to revive them. Using this fact, we kept sending their horses towards the stables. Common horses have really low HP so a single attack from Yumir is able to kill them. And the reason we can say well win even with our limited number is because of these Grado Turks. This high HP that wont make them stop even if they were to get hit by a few arrows-whops! !?(Hind) Whoa! Grado Turks are the best!(Tobi) Yeah! Ending like this when its only two of us, I cant stop smiling!(Yumir) This speed makes them able to dodge even the magical attacks of the enemies. As youd expect from the reward for winning the tournament. Yumir and I (though Tobi was also riding with us) were going around the enemy camp aiming at their horses. The members with rental horses were focused on evading and defending themselves, their priority was to obstruct the people that started casting. At the beginning, this strategy was going well butthe opponents gradually started to compose themselves -Adah, dah!? Hind-dono, the Grado Turks are starting to get hit by long distance attacksCbuh!(Tobi) That hurts! Tsk, I guess the opponents have started to get used to our speedwe are falling back!(Hind) Understood!(Tobi) Yumir should still be fine for now, but the Grado Turk we were riding was in critical condition. I poured one of the crafted intermediate potions on the Grado Turk and began casting Healing Plus. Tobi threw a bo-hiya towards the horses that were chasing us, furthermore, he started throwing kunais since they had low CD. I was somehow able to finish casting and the Grado Turks HP was back to full. The opponents horses were reduced to about half their numbers so the fight had started to get easier but !(Hind) Nuoh!?(Tobi) As if aiming at the moment I was thinking of something else, a guy jumped from his horse towards us while wielding a dagger. I tried to raise my staff in a panic, but I wont make it in time! Just when I was readying myself to take some damage, a voice could be heard. Hind-kun!(Selene) A powerful arrow came flying and hit the enemys body dead center. Wielding a crossbow that was smaller than what she used normally, Selene-san came over to get us, who were withdrawing and started to run parallel to us. II thought that was going to give me a heart attack Selene-dono! Our savior!(Tobi) Thank you very much, Selene-san! That timing was just perfect! Love you!(Hind) L-Love!?(Selene) Selene-san turned bright red. Even though we were in the middle of a battle, she started to fidget, then I realized what I just blurted out and started to panic. It was a spur of the moment thing right? It just happened right? Thats the case right? It was not as if he was saying his true feelings right? Ah, I should think that it was some sort of suspension bridge effect because he was saved when he was in a pinch-(Riizu) Hiiii!? Riizu-dono, where did you come from!?(Tobi) Suddenly, grumblings could be heard from just behind us. Chills started to crawl up my spine and I started to shiver. Then I looked towards Riizu, who was looking at me with a dark expression. Y-Yeah. I-It was just a spur of a moment thing and I got excitedIm sorry, Selene-san.(Hind) Y-Yes. I dontmind? Yes(Selene) While saying that, Selene-san looked slightly disappointed. Im really sorryon the other hand, light returned to Riizus eyes and she smiled sweetly. Be careful, OK? Hind-san.(Riizu) M-My badthose werent words that I should have said half-heartedly(Hind) Thats right. Leaving that aside, Ill definitely be the one that comes to rescue Hind-san next time.(Riizu) As soon as my life was saved, I was assaulted by fear that it would take years off my life you know?Though it was my own fault. I then bowed to never say another thoughtless remark even if my life was in danger. While we were talking, we never stopped moving and we used the wide field to continue our retreat. Muh, Yumir is going too deep(Hind) Leave it to me!(Selene) While saying that, she loaded another bolt and accurately hit the horse of the person that was chasing behind Yumir. Oh!? Secchan, that really helps!(Yumir) Selene-san might be the person thats standing out the most in this group fight. All the bolts shes shooting are proving to be effective. Maybe she realized that she was in a bad position from the attack just now, Yumir rushed through the enemies and started to come over here. Senpai, save me. Help.(Siesta) !?(Hind) A frail voice could be heard from somewhere. I started to look around me and Tobi pointed towards a certain place. Ah! Hind-dono, the members of Baby Bird are in trouble!(Tobi) It might be because their horses were gone, Siesta-chan, who had raised her voice was casting magic while standing behind Lycoris-chan. Cineraria-chan was shooting arrows towards the enemies horses to keep them in check. While going around in circles around the members of Baby Birds, the PKs who were riding on horses were slowly closing in. You two, go support Yumir!(Hind) Got it!(Riizu) Understood!(Selene) Tobi!(Hind) Yeah!(Tobi) Since most of his throwable items were on CD, Tobi placed his hands on my shoulders to support himself and did a somersault. He easily switched places with me and went to the front and took the reins of the horse, then rushed towards the members of Baby Bird. While obstructing the enemies with the Grado Turk, I pierced the enemies horses with kunais as they came back up from CD. Thanks to the enemies being distracted, Siesta-chan was able to finish casting Heavens Ray and blew the enemies away. Ooh! Hind-dono, your throwing accuracy is so high! Not bad!(Tobi) Im always throwing spells around while you guys are moving all over the place. I can do at least this much.(Hind) Ooh, senpai is so cool. I might fall in love with you all over again. Having converged with Siesta-chan, she made a gesture as if she was poking me with her elbow. Though she wasnt reaching at all because we were riding on a horse. Looking relieved, Lycoris-chan and Cineraria-chan took a breath and came towards us and bowed. Thank you very much! Dont try too hard and support us from a bit further behind. If enemies come, be sure to call us over.(Hind) Yes! Like this, we kept supporting each other. However, it was gradually becoming a situation where we couldnt get past the difference in numbers. Though, if we were to gain the upper hand Nights Edge would begin to retreat. You could say that would be good but Yumir, who was moving around energetically, didnt have any choice but to act as an escort for the members of Baby Bird who had lost their horses and we had to gradually move back as a group like the first time. Hind-san, at this rate!(Riizu) Kuh, are they not here yet!? Mitsuyoshi-san and the others reinforcements!(Hind) Our party was at its limits, the moment I shouted that Arrows, stones, fire, water, wind, earth, darkness, light rained from the sky. Theres no penalties for preemptively attacking orange named people. They were better in terms of quality and quantity compared to Nights Edge, the planned long range attacks rained incessantly on top of the enemy ranks. Kept you waiting! Dont let anyone get away! Forward!(Mitsuyoshi) Yeaaah!! With Mitsuyoshi-sans order, the armored players simultaneously charged forward. Due to the abrupt reinforcements, Nights Edge shrank back and stopped their movements. ! Drive them away! Beat them up! From within their ranks, one person finally raised his voice. As if the shackles that bound him came undone with his voice, he started to run away in the direction opposite of Town of Canaris we came from, towards Port Notos. However, he immediately froze again. Having split into two groups, the members of the Japanese Style Guild Rin cut the PK guilds escape route from the Port Notos side. KukukuI wonder where were you planning to go? Along with those words, the one that stepped forward was a young man wearing a helmet with antlers in the form of a crescent moon. I dont know who hes trying to imitate with thatah, that military commander of the seven misfortunes and eight pains. Carrying a spear on his shoulder, he calmly led the Japanese style forces towards us. Alright, people, lets join the party! Divine punishment to the outlaws! Divine punishment! They sure are getting into it, Mitsuyoshi-san and colooks like they are having fun.(Hind) We are going too, Hind!(Yumir) Me too! Vengeance for my rental horse! Divine punishment!(Tobi) Tobi-kun is also getting into it.(Selene) Having reached this point, fortunately we had decreased the number of horses on their side. The PKs practically couldnt escape and were caught, resisting was their only option left. Furthermore, their numbers should have been about the same butthe strength of the Japanese Style Guild Rin was on another level There were some that tried to escape by jumping into the sea but having been surrounded, Nights Edge was annihilated after a few minutes. Chapter 144 Hi there, Long time no see, sorry about the delay. Was busy with real life and eventually got sidetracked doing other things in my free time. Couple notes this chapter. All the members (so far) from Mitsuyoshis guild have their names written in katakana and dont use kanji like for example: Kitsunes name is written as ĥ͡instead of . As for the alphabetical order part of the chapter. Unlike the English alphabet, Japanese uses their own system to organize words. In this case if you want to search for a word like Swimsuit (ˮ) that starts with Mi, You would need to go to the section of the sounds Ma, Mi, Mu, Me Mo. Fortunately all the other words mentioned sorta work in English but just the Swimsuit part didnt. Regarding the part about Yukimorithe person historically had multiple nicknames hence the other names. I did a bit of investigation regarding him to get some parts but it was all rather confusing since as far as I know Hojo Soun was another person. Maybe there are historical facts that I dont know about where he might have gone by that name but theres no way for me to verify them in a timely manner so youll have to deal with me leaving that part like that. Anyway, enjoy the chapter, dunno when Ill be able to get the next one out. So, these are the rewards for dealing with those guys. But are you really fine with this? Since you guys were the ones that had to go through a hard time, the majority of us were thinking that we would be fine with a 3:7 split.(Mitsuyoshi) The reward for dealing with PKs depends on the number of their crimesin this case, it depends on the Degree of Crime that the players we defeated had done. It depends on factors like for example, the lower the lv of the opponents they kill they higher the reward is, among various factorsin conclusion, the total sum we got for defeating Nights Edge was of 10 million G. Seems like they have killed quite a few players. Since the average gold that PKs give these days is 100k G, these guys are worth many times that amount. Furthermore, the death penalty PKs get is much harsher than that of normal players, the game balance takes measures so that the number of PKs doesnt increase too much. In regards to the distribution of the reward this time, Mitsuyoshi-san and Yumir are currently discussing it. Thats not the case! Even though its temporary, I dont want our alliance to show restraints among each other! Its true that our responsibilities were bigger in a sense, but if you think about number of people that participated in the end, a 5:5 split is a valid assessment!(Yumir) OohI apologize for saying this but, this old man didnt think Yumir-chan would be able to do those kinds of calculations. Im sorry.(Mitsuyoshi) COr so, thats Hind said!(Yumir) Ah, eh?(Mitsuyoshi) Because those words slipped from Yumirs mouth, Mitsuyoshi-san ended up making quite the idiotic face. I wonder why, his reactions seem to be quite old fashioned, maybe by a couple generations at thateven though he looks quite young, I guess hes really an old man. This is the Japanese Style Rins guild home in Port Notos. If we talk about its exterior, you could call it a Samurai Residence from a single glance. Seems like on top of buying the plot of land, they made the building themselves. I knew that such a thing was possible to begin with butI never thought someone would actually do it. Usually, people would buy something that was already constructed like we did or they would rent a place. Even now, we are sitting on top of tatami mats that were made from scratch while discussing. Seems like this is the drawing room. From our side its only me and Yumir, from their side its the three members that act as the leaders of the guild. Bufuh! Ahahahahaha!! You guys are really interesting! We could hear laughing coming from behind the fox mask. This woman is the one that waved at us while wearing Miko garments back in Town of Canaris. Within the guild, shes the one that leads the healing type division, it seems like shes a support type Shinto Priest like me. Her name is Kitsune-sanits such an easy to guess name that I cant even comment on it. That being said, Yuusha-chan, your beauty lives up to your reputation! Is it fine if I take some screenshots? Is it OK? Is it?(Kitsune) I dont really mind? Go ahead!(Yumir) Stop it Kitsune, thats rude! Its your first time meeting each other! The last member of their side is that young man that was leading their detached force coming from the Notos side. While reprimanding Kitsune-san, he was taking glances at Yumir and his cheeks were reddening. Yukki, why are you getting nervous? Isnt it fine? You are just too tense.(Kitsune) Ah, by Yukki, could it mean that you havent taken the name of Shikanosuke but the name of Yukimori? (Hind) After I said such a statementthe young man with the horned helmet, whose name I havent heard yet, opened his eyes wide. Then he smiledwait, this reaction, where have I seen it before. Thats right! You sure know your stuff! Whats wrong with it being a common name? Its not like there are no stories where he called himself with those names, but most stage plays and storytellers during the Edo period called him Yukimori right? Besides, am I the only one that feels weird when I hear the names Shikanosuke or Hojo Soun? I just want to call him Yamanaka Yukimori? Ise Seiji for some reason! The nicknames or other names hes called by are not really bad, but I think its best to call him by his original name if we consider his way of living! You think so too right!?(Yukki) Ahits like that time with Selene-san but this guy is more of a pain in the ass than her. History otakuno, this is something else. For some reason, I believe this person has a different scent? I remember that the person itself left letters behind where he called himself Yamanaka Shikanosuke. Its like that. This person is definitely the type that would lunge at you if you were to call Sanada Yukimura, Yukimori. What incessant talking. Half of what he said didnt even register in my brain you know?(Yumir) Uheh, Yukki entered his pain in the ass mode. Sorry about this. True Self and Yuusha-chan.(Kitsune) Oh, no worries, its fine. Ehhistory can be interpreted in different ways as new information comes out, so I think its fine for each person to call him in the way they like the most. Its just that, instead of calling him Shikanosuke, I believe that Yukimori sounds way cooler-(Hind) Right!? You think so too!? Look, listen to what he said Kitsune! There are people out there that understand!(Yukki) Yeah yeah, sure thing.(Kitsune) Yukimori-san overreacted in an exaggerated manner when I reassured him as to not dampen his mood. Then he talked to Kitsune-san while looking really happy. However, huhyup, hes really into it as expected! I think this is going to go well. After I listened to them talking while staying silent, he eventually proceeded to introduce himself properly. His player name wasYukimori, hes the one that leads the guilds vanguards. Hes a defensive type, Heavy warrior and the main shield of the guild, however Just dont make me take magical hits! or so he says. Mitsuyoshi-san, who had been looking at us talking, opened his mouth after he kept nodding. As I thought, Hind-kun is more mature than people his own age. Is there an old man inside you?(Mitsuyoshi) What do you even mean by thattheres nothing like that.(Hind) This guy has always been like this. Thats why, he also has a good reputation among the teachers at school.(Yumir) Ah, I can somehow see that. True Self gives this vibe that would make you want to suggest him as class president.(Kitsune) What are you talking about, Kitsune? How did you arrive at that conclusion from the current conversation?(Yukki) Turning towards Yukimori-san, who was the only person that was unable to understand, Kitsune-san just stared at him in silence. I wonder what expression she has under that maskmost likely, shes probably looking quite dumbfounded. Yukki is really Yukki(Kitsune) Huh?(Yukki) Anyway, I definitely wont become the class president, never again. The last time they recommended me for the position, I was forced to do a ton of troublesome things and it was quite a painful experience. Furthermore, our homeroom teacher at the time was a newly appointed female teacherit was in my first year of middle school. I dont even want to remember those days. Kukuh, you are frowning, Hind-kun. Seems like the position of class president is bringing back bad memories.(Mitsuyoshi) Leave me alone.(Hind) Now that I think about it, this is quite unexpected. Since we were talking about the leaders of the guild that Mitsuyoshi-san made, I definitely thought they were going to be people that gave the sensation of being calm and collected. The members of the guild are women and men of different ages butthese two are quite young. We finished our brief introductions and we then received various proposals from Mitsuyoshi-san that were actually good for us. Is this really fine? For us to be able to freely use the facilities here during our stay.(Hind) Sure thing. If theres something you dont want others to hear, you have the option to go to an inn in the village, but if we are going to work together during this event, isnt it inconvenient to have you travel back and forth? Ill prepare a room for you guys so feel free to use it.(Mitsuyoshi) While I was feeling apologetic, Yumirs attitude was quite plain and simple. That would be helpful! Thanks!(Yumir) Yup, thats a nice reply. True Self, Yuusha-chan is quite popular among girls right? Especially those younger than her.(Kitsune) Kitsune-sans eyes, even while being hidden behind a mask, conveyed immense curiosity. Somehow, Ive been able to gauge the personality of this woman through our conversations. You are correct. Do you like gossiping, Kitsune-san? You sure sound like you are having fun while talking. It livens you up just seeing you have fun.(Hind) Though I often get told that Im too noisy because I talk too much! If it gets too irritating, feel free to just tell me OK? Ill stay quiet for a while if you do!(Kitsune) If she says for a while that would mean she would start talking again after a bitwell, theres no doubt that shes a person with a cheerful personality. That being said, we left the room while having Kitsune-san show us around the place. We changed locations, and we were led to a room about 12 tatami mats in size. During our stay, we could use this place to log in and log out. It was a Japanese-style room as expected, until a while ago, Siesta-chan was lying down while saying Tatami~. Now being the time it is, most of the members had already logged out. We thankfully were somehow able to reach the ocean area where the event was going to be held in a single evening. That being the case, Hind-dono! We have to check on our promise!(Tobi) Yeah yeah I know. Nothing will change even if you try to make me hurry up, calm down.(Hind) The only ones left here were Tobi and me. His objective was if the aforementioned items blueprint existed or not. I took out my sewing set from within my inventory and I turned over the pages that listed the blueprints. It should be in Ma. Ehmantle, mask, mat, waitisnt this thing in alphabetical order? The order is all over the place. Mi sectionMilitary Pouch, Military Jacket, Military Shirt, Military Cargo Pants, Military Cap(Hind) Why are there so many military items!? Guns dont even exist here! Kenji would be the only one happy about that kind of thing! Next one, next!(Tobi) Gunpowder does seem to exist though, wonder if it would be possible to create small arms? Even if you were able to, there are quite a few games where theres not much difference in power when compared to arrows or magic. After Military theres the mini type of items. Im going to skip this part.(Hind) Swimsuits comeswimsuits please(Tobi) Tobi intertwined his hands in front of his face as if to pray. That much? Is he that desperate to see swimsuits? Your worldly desires are leakingah.(Hind) What do you mean by ah! Show me!(Tobi) Tobi snatched the blueprint from me and looked at it intensely. After staying silent for a bit, he returned it to me, he fell to his knees and then threw both of his arms towards the ceiling and stood still. Uoooooooooooo!!!(Tobi) He looked delighted, it was just as if he was an athlete that just made a comeback and reached the goal in a race. They really exist? Swimsuits Chapter 145 The following day, having lost the bet with Tobi, I logged in alongside Riizu. I spread out the tools I needed on top of the tatami mat of the room we were borrowing and took out the necessary materials I got from the trading BBS. I had already explained that I had lost a bet and had no choice but to make female swimsuits. Sadly, they are not sold in shops. As for the reason as to why I told Riizu firstmy instincts told me that I was in danger and I should do it. Things actually went relatively well soit was probably the correct choice. That being said, Ill put on gloves and start working on them socould you help me out with the finer details?(Hind) I dont mind, but why? Why dont you just do it barehanded-(Riizu) You, would you want to wear a swimsuit thats been touched all over by a guy? Particularly, the interior cloth.(Hind) ?(Riizu) Eh, why is she not getting what Im saying? Riizu tilted her head as if she didnt understand what I was saying. At that moment, she took the hat that was falling off in her hands and sat down close to me in seiza style. Hind-san, youll be the one making them right?(Riizu) You can tell just by looking right? Ill do it as best as I can while wearing gloves.(Hind) Would there be a problem if you did it barehanded?(Riizu) I get it, my wording was bad. If Tobi were to make Riizus swimsuit while barehanded-(Hind) Definitely not!(Riizu) Yup, she already knew what I was talking about. Also, Tobi, Im sorry for using you as an example. Even if Riizu was fine with it because shes family, it doesnt mean that the other members will be fine with it right? Supplementing my explanation with these new details, it seemed like Riizu finally understood what was going on. If thats the case. I understand.(Riizu) There will be a lot of parts where itll be hard to work with gloves. Im counting on you.(Hind) Understood. However, its ok if Hind-san makes mine while barehanded you know?(Riizu) Huh? No, but you know(Hind) Its OK, you know?(Riizu) Well, if you are fine with it.(Hind) That being the case, having gained Riizus cooperation, I started making the swimsuits. Even if I say that, its not like they are hard to make. I had already procured the type of cloth called Serge, that made it so they wouldnt bee see-through even if they became wet, from the trading BBS. The reason the blueprints for the swimsuits became available was because I had previously made this type of cloth back in Sala. This is all your fault, past methanks to you, things have turned troublesome. That being said, theres quite a variety of swimsuits in this game. Riizu, which one do you think would be best to make? For the time being, choose yours first.(Hind) Ah, in that case, this one-piece with frills in the chest area. Or, this Bandeaukini.(Riizu) OK.(Riizu) Both of them are types that make it so you can cover the size of your breastno, lets stop there. As a brother, one has to silently support his sister when shes making an effort. What about the other members?(Hind) Secchan is quite shy, so one that has little exposure. How about this skirt type one-piece with its pleasant design?(Riizu) Oh, I see. This makes it look like they are normal clothes. In that case, lets make a straw hat as a bonus.(Hind) In terms of timing, I explained the situation to Riizu yesterday evening after we logged out. Then, Riizu sent emails to the girls during the day and somehow, everyone said that they would e. They also gave the go ahead to the swimsuits and playing on the beach. Be it yesterday or today, everyone sure is in good spiritsif this was the case, maybe there was no need to rush here in such a hurry? In regards to the members of Baby Birdwell, they are middle schoolers so I think something more tame is better.(Riizu) This one, eh, were they called Tankinis? How about these?(Riizu) I asked her as I pointed at the image in the blueprint. A tankini is a type of swimsuit that puts a tank top and a bikini bottom together. If I made the bottom part have less exposure it would make it so that the whole thing was more tame? They also cover the stomach after all. Other than that, theres the petition swimsuits and the school swimsuits.(Riizu) Are you even thinking about things seriously? Competition swimsuits would be one thing but school swimsuits Though they might be accustomed to them because they are middle schoolers.(Hind) It would be quite boring to make the same thing over and over. In the worst case, well decide who wears which one with rock paper scissors.(Riizu) Now that I think about it, since all of them are made from the blueprints, the size will be irrelevant no matter who wears which Its not like I dont understand the feeling of getting tired of making the same thing. Oh, now that I think about it, we havent thought about one for her. In that case, what about Yumirs?(Hind) (Riizu) Because of my question, Riizu, who had been smoothly answering my questions so far, approached me silently with furrowed brows. Wouldnt it be fine to just make her wear a bikini? Sigh(Riizu) Hey, you suddenly just replied with no motivation. Well, she has a good figure so I guess a bikini would suit her though.(Hind) For the most part, anything would suit that girl. If we were to go to an extreme, wouldnt she be able to wear anything other than girly clothes?(Riizu) Is that so? Girlish clothesits true that I think she herself mentioned a while back that she was sad that cute type clothes didnt suit her. I guess one cant have it all. In that case a bikinithis one that es with hot pants should be fine. It probably would fit her since shes so energetic. With this, we have decided which ones to make. Huhguess Ill start making the male ones first quickly. Ill get used to handling the Serge with that, so go prepare the materials and wait for me.(Hind) Lets make Hind-sans a speedo.(Riizu) Why!? Who would be interested in that!?(Hind) Me.(Riizu) No way! Ill go with normal trunks. Due to my words, Riizus mouth morphed showing her displeasure. When it es down to things like speedos, Ive only ever seen them being used in petitive environments you know? Even though Ive known her for so long, lately, Ive been unable to understand the way of thinking of my sisterI wonder why. After that, I made swimwear for me and Tobi. Then, I proceeded to manufacture the girls swimsuits as stated in the blueprint with Riizus help. Because of the fact that the size of the swimsuits in the blueprints were of the average height of a Japanese female, they will shrink down when equipped by the members that are shorter than average. For some reason, I can only feel that its a waste to lose the materials used when the final item will shrink. For people that have better physique than average, you might be able to save materials if you make them according to the blueprint instead of making your own arranged version. Then, you place the needle on this-(Hind) Like this?(Riizu) Thats right. You are doing really well.(Hind) Oh? Im sensing someone!(Riizu) Suddenly the sliding doors opened violently from both sides and a Fox mask wearing woman rudely entered the room. Kitsune-san got closer without a care and peered at what I had on my hands. Seeing her actions, we just stood there frozen in place with our mouths open. What are you doing? True Self, ehand little witch! Uwah, you are so small and cute! I just want to hug you!(Kitsune) L-Little Witch? You mean me?(Riizu) What you say, just as you can see, Im making swimsuits(Hind) Swimsuits? Why are you doing that? Tell me, tell me! Tell Kitsune onee-san!(Kitsune) Being pressured so vigorously, I told kitsune-san that we were going to go play at the beach. Once I did, having heard about the situation, she vigorously stood up and said. At the sea inside the game? Playing on the beach!? That sounds so fun! Wait a moment, Ill join too! Ill go gather the members that are logged in and ask the craftsmen guild to make swimsuits for us!(Kitsune) Like that, with speed that was higher than the one she came inside with, she left the guild home while bumping into the wall. So loud, and I guess shes quick on her feet? Riizu and I, who had stayed behind, just stood there dumbfounded while staring at the door she had gone through. Shes like a storm(Riizu) I-I dont think shes a bad personprobably.(Hind) Its just thatI cant help but say that she has bad manners. Even if we are the ones in their debt for having borrowed this room, for her to just open the sliding door without asking for permission first and leave it open when she left I closed the sliding door and sat back at my original position, for the time being, I decided to just finish making the swimsuits with Riizus help. Chapter 146 Hi there, Nothing much to say this time but I think Im beginning to sorta regret not leaving some things with their Japanese reading recently. With the addition of Kitsune and the way she speaks to other people and how she makes up nicknames for everyone its beginning to feel a bit off when I translate things into English, especially when I should add suffixes like chan/kun but I go out of my to just remove them completely because it would just sound weird. Anyway, enjoy the chapter, next one, whenever its done. A bit further ahead of theNotos Port City theres the safe area Notos Beach. In terms of players, theres only a few fishing over here. According to what Kitsune-san said, there seems to be an area close to the edge where theres usually close to no people. We had planned to come with eight people but that amount had increased to dozens and now we were heading towards the beach. The girls said that they would come after checking that there was nothing wrong with the Games Swimsuits, so we arrived first. A lot of things happened along the way, but Im so happy that the amount of girls ended up increasing at the end! Though the number of guys also increased too.(Tobi) Guys like you are soI dont think its good to be too honest you know?(Hind) Even though Kitsune-san had told them with such short notice, she was able to gather quite a few members of Rin and the craftsman side. As youd expect from the younger members, there were not many that were the calm and collected type. That being said, I cant help but be conscious of the people behind us.(Hind) The players that were fishing had to do a double take when they saw us after allI, I do like ninjas and Japanese clothing but that thing is a bit(Tobi) What are you saying!? If you are speaking of Japanese clothing and the sea, it has to be this! Dahahaha(Yukimori) Yukimori-san laughed heartily. Including himself, the members of the Japanese style guilds swimsuits (?) were Fundoshis. Walking alongside them, it felt quite embarrassing and stuffy. Does no one think that its weird? Im fearful of this psychology of the masses that makes people think that its fine if everyone is doing it. Green translucent water and shiny white sandIm no Tobi but, its irksome how we are in such a place but its currently full of guys. You guys of Migratory Bird are the best! For us to be able to look at the girls in their swimsuits before summer! On top of that, its that Yusha-chan you know!? I believe that the others girls were all cute too! With Yukimori-san as the center, the vanguard squad he led was predominantly filled with young males. I might be gaming but I also do sports in real life! A lot of them gave that feeling with their well built bodies, thats also one of the reasons it felt that stuffy. Hearing how each one of them were looking forward to seeing the swimsuits, the perpetrator Tobi looked pompous and nodded with a Umu. No no, arent the females of Rin also quite pretty? In cases like this, our intentions are one and the same! Today, well feast our eyes and enjoy it in moderation!(Tobi) Oooh! If you were to gather guys from that age, they would act the same no matter where they are from. I think that a group of guys in the high school sports festival would give this sort of feeling. And the girls would be wearing something like PE uniforms. True self, what kind of swimsuits did you make for the girls in Migratory Bird? I heard from Kitsune-san that you were the one that made them! Ah, well, even if you want me to explain right now. Wouldnt that sort of thing be something to look forward to?(Hind) A boy with short hair and freckles talked to me while looking really excited. While setting up a parasol made of a wood stick and light-colored cloth and wondering if it would be fine to prepare the drinks right now, I replied to him without thinking much about it. Once I did, he reached a conclusion on his own and said Are they going to be that amazing!? Im looking forward to it! and returned to where his friends were. Everyone is so restlessah, since we are at the beach, how about some beach volleyball? I think I had a rubber ball in my inventory made from that time I was making those elf ears. Once I started rummaging through the bag I placed under the parasol- Yahooo, did you wait long? -Wait, uwah! Ahahahaha! All the guys from our guild are wearing fundoshis! Are you guys dumb!?(Kitsune) What did you just say!?(Yukimori) Shortly after hearing Kitsune-sans lively voice, the guys raised their voices with a Oooh!!. Once I looked over, skin that wouldnt lose in radiance to the white sand jumped into my sight. With Kitsune-san leading, the girls wearing normal swimsuits arrived at the beach. Like that, they all started talking about each others swimsuits, having been left out somehow, I just sat down under the parasol I had prepared just before. Once I did, Kitsune-san got away from the idle talk and weaved through the crowd and got closer to me. Oh, True Self, as expected of you. You even prepared a parasol? With something like this you can set up the atmosphere.(Kitsune) Well its not like we can get sunburnt after all. However, you really wont take away your mask? Wearing a bikini top and bottom while wearing a fox mask feels really surreal.(Hind) If I were to wear something like this in real life I would draw a lot of attention after all. Well, we are in a game after all so pay it no mind.(Kitsune) Her looks were pretty feminine and pretty. She didnt look as flashy and uneven as Yumir, however, it gave a sense of having a balance and not lacking anywhere. Maybe she was some kind of modelshes wearing a mask and all, I better not try to pry any further into it. Somehow, True Self, you are able to just have no reaction when you see me even if Im wearing a mask. I might lose some self-confidence there. Maybe its because you are used to seeing that?(Kitsune) That?(Hind) Its not like I had no reaction to it, Im just trying my best to not show it on my face though When I looked towards where Kitsune-san was pointing at, I saw someone with tanned skin color and silver hair running towards us while waving her hand. Ah, they are going wildI wont say what though, while shes running they are wildly going up and down! Hind! How is it, does it suit me!?(Yumir) Ah, yeah. It suitsyou?(Hind) Really!? If you say so, Im relieved!(Yumir) It had more destructive power than I imagined. Finding it hard to look directly at her, I picked up the ball I had put down in order to hide my embarrassment. Look, Ill give you a ball so go ahead and play some beach volleyball with everyone.(Hind) Oh, that sounds fun! Ill go first then, but you need to come later!(Yumir) Leaving behind those words, Yumir ran up to Lycoris-chan and Cineraria-chan, who were waiting for her. Seems like Lycoris-chan is wearing the tankinini and Cineraria-chan the competition swimsuit. Im looking from quite far away, but they both look good in them. The group of guys wearing fundoshis are following after them while keeping some distance. Honestly, looking at them acting like that from outside makes me feel creeped out. Shes amazingeven though shes slightly muscular, she still properly has that feminine softness. Unfair, completely unfair. Is this what they call an hourglass figure? Unfair!(Kitsune) I concur. Though in my eyes, Kitsune-san would also be qualified as an enemy.(Riizu) Eh? Oh! Just when I was thinking who it was, isnt this the Little Witch!? Your swimsuit is so cute!(Kitsune) Riizu, who was wearing a one piece swimsuit with frills that was close to the color white sat down close to me while grumbling. While not at the level of Yumir, I get the feeling that shes gathering quite a lot of attention tooah, they are averting their gazes. Following Riizu, Selene-san and Siesta-chan came under the parasol to avoid all the noise. Hey, indoor faction.(Hind) I dont think Senpai is one to talk. If you stay this far away, youll look like a dad keeping an eye on our belongings you know?(Siesta) Replying to my words like this was Siesta-chan, she was wearing a school swimsuit. This one had a certain portion bulging out splendidly too though. Riizu took a quick glance at her and her expression immediately turned sour. Even though you say that. What would you think if you saw me running energetically around the beach?(Hind) I would wonder if you had a fever or something.(Siesta) Right? Wait, you always default to being rude to me right? Siesta-chan.(Hind) Oh, the number of cute girls is increasing! Nice to meet you, Sleepy-chan!(Kitsune) Hi there, Im Sleepy. Im sleepy so lend me your lap, masked onee-san.(Siesta) Ooh? This girl is not timid at all. This is bad!(Kitsune) She does really adapt really quickly She didnt bat an eye when Kitsune-san called her with that weird nickname, then she just borrowed her lap and started to sleep. I took out a container with orange juice and glasses I had prepared beforehand and started distributing it to the members that were there. The ice is from the Beli Confederation, I bought it from the trading BBS. Since time stops for the items when you place them in the inventory, its really convenient in moments like this. If this existed in real life, I would definitely want one. Thank you, True Self. You sure are thoughtful. Unlike the guys in our guild!(Kitsune) Thank you, Hind-kun. Also thanks for the swimsuit. I also said thanks to Riizu-chan earlier, like this, I wont feel embarrassed either.(Selene) Selene-san was wearing a one piece with a skirt, that along with the hat she was wearing made her look like a high class lady. Like I thought, it suits her. It also brings out her charm. MumuI can feel that you are around the same age as me. Glasses-chan!(Kitsune) Eh? Eh, uh.(Selene) Ah, you dont have to give me an answer! I was just thinking about it! More importantly, that swimsuit is lovely! Wherewait, True Self and the Little Witch were the ones that decided on it! Ahahaha! Even though I was there when they were making them. Ah, right, right! Since you are this pretty, how about changing glasses to match your swimsuit!? That would defini-(Kitsune) Then, before Selene-san was able to properly thank me, Kitsune-san started pestering her. Hearing the barrage of questions, Riizu followed up and pulled Kitsune-san away, then he sat her down on the sand and started to give her a sermon. Shes listening to her while sitting down in seiza position butbecause shes wearing a mask, I dont know if shes even feeling sorry about it Having been released from it, Selene-san gave a sigh of relief and whispered to me in a small voice. Sh-Shes quite overbearing(Selene) Yeah. For her to act like that no matter who she talks to, I do kinda respect her in a way.(Hind) Also, Siesta-chan had fallen off when Kitsune-san stood up, but somehow, she was now occupying my lap. Eh, when did this happen!? This one too, she was acting the same as always, I dont know why she even changed into a swimsuit and came to the beach