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Chapter 301 Part 1

《Your friend has sent you a message.》

I logged in at 5:50 AM.
No raids today, right?
Apparently not.
There are many players around.
This seems to be the outermost part of the castle.
Repair work is making progress.
It’s clearly going forward.

What a shame.
If we had chosen to intercept them here instead of in the Silent Bamboo Woods from the beginning, wouldn’t have we been able to fight them any differently?

Well then.
Who’s this message from?
It’s from Fiona.

『I’m in Twilight Castle’s central tower. It would be a great help if you could come here.』

Hmm.
That’s fine.
Should I just have a quick breakfast and go?
Let’s summon Bunraku and have him prepare the meal.
Yeah, I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve had Bunraku make something for me.
I’m glad I still have some Fighting Bull Meat on me.
I’m really, really glad.

「Keith! Over here!」

Have we turned the central tower into our main headquarters?
No, that’s not true.
It only looks that way because all the authorities of Production job players are there.

「Hey, good morning.」

「Have you had breakfast already?」

「Yes, I have.」

I appreciate Yuka’s offer, but…
If I take advantage of their kindness, I’ll have fewer opportunities to enjoy Bunraku’s cooking.

I currently have Volff and Helix on me.
And Zangetsu and Kurama are standing behind me.
I’ve been meaning to ask for help regarding Zangetsu and Kurama’s gear.
It seems that Fiona has given priority to this matter.
Thank you.

「So, a face guard for this girl here?」

「That’s right, I’d also like some leather armor.”

「I saw how you guys did back there in the video you posted, but maybe it is better to have some leather armor on after all, right?」

「Do you think it’ll take a long time?」

「Well, since they’ll be custom made, that is to be expected. I’ll take their measures.」

However…
Saki strokes Zangetsu before measuring her size, right?
Zangetsu is also very well-behaved.
It seems like she is pushing her nose against Saki’s hand to encourage her to stroke it.
So it’s okay for you to take advantage of their kindness, huh?
If I were to try to get away doing something like that, I could get banned from the game, you know?

What about Kurama’s equipment?
A standard Snow Beastman Small Shield handpicked by Reina.
And a standard Straight Steel Sword handpicked by Giedre.
Well, pretty standard gear alright.
At any rate, they’re ready-made, so there’s that.

Since I didn’t have much on me that I could use to pay for the gear, it was only natural I’d have to fork over some money.
I feel like it’s been a while since I paid with Dyns.
But I’m not even mad about giving them such a large number of coins.
Apparently there are too many transactions being made and not enough currency in circulation.
So I paid everything with in-game currency.
Well, let’s just say I feel lighter now.

「So, I have some info to share, but…」

「Huh?」

「I was shocked when I first saw your video. What was that?」

You’ve been shocked for some reason since the beginning.
Well.
It’s a long story, but…
I can’t seem to escape from her inquisitive eyes.
After all, she’s been helping me a lot.

「I know they’re not impossible to beat, but don’t go doing unreasonable stuff like that, okay?」

「Huh…」

「We appreciate the help, but looking at this from the outside is just too much, you know?」

It was different from a sermon.
There seems to be a lot of commotion due to how this event has progressed so far.
That’s right.
It’s Boosted Power.
And the way I charge at the enemies does get a little bit like that.

Well, putting that aside…
I’ve received an outline of the current situation.
It seems that I can work hard to improve my levels across the board for two full days, including today.
When will the Kim Kui Slave reach Twilight Castle?
It looks like it will take three days at the earliest.
In the meantime, I’m free to go on a Majin hunt.
In fact, many players already seem to be enjoying the freedom to hunt Majins to their hearts’ content.

It seems that Adele, Irina, and the other summoners have also started hunting in various places.
Margrid has also been participating in the battle until yesterday, and was now finally able to devote herself to her Jewelry-related work.
It seems that Reina and the other Production job players are also using the items obtained to manufacture weapons and other items.
It seems like Twilight Castle is rapidly turning into our new base.
Just like a real castle.
How can this be used as a key point of defense?
I would like to think that figuring that out would give us a better chance to defeat the invading monsters.

I bought some Portable Food and some vegetables.
Have I forgotten anything?
Not really.

Well then.
What should I do?
I’ve got something on my mind.　
Hunting Majins isn’t a bad idea, but I think there’s a lot of people already taking care of that.

So I will be heading south.
That’s right.
To release the area portal.
I don’t have enough Bonus Points!
Not enough at all.
What I should be aiming to do right now is obtaining the 【Heroic Summoning】 skill.

Of course, I set up a lineup focused on movement.
Volff, Zangetsu, Helix, Couturier, and Oma.
Can we run through the W4 map all the way south in one go?
If we don’t hurry, we’ll be beaten to the punch!

There are also some strong monsters on the W4 map.
I’m talking about Panzer Rhinos.

What will fighting them be like?
How well will Panzer Rhinos fare against my Boosted Power?
They won’t stand a chance!
And yet…
Zangetsu already wins in that battle.
Even when facing them head-on.
If we attack them from the side, they won’t even be able to see us coming.
I never thought we would be able to kill Panzer Rhinos with a single blow.

No, this is bad.
It’s too easy a victory.
I have to go to S1W4 soon!
I hope there are some strong enemies over there.

《Summoned Monster『Oma』 Level Up!》
《Please add 1 point to a desired stat.》

The time is 9:10 AM.
Although we’re fighting while on the move, things are going well.
And Oma also leveled up.
There is no doubt that we’re off to a good start.

Oma’s AGI increased automatically upon leveling up.
Let’s choose DEX as his second stat increase.

Oma　Werewolf Lv3 → Lv4 (↑1)
　DEX　16 (↑1)
　AGI　32 (↑1)
　INT　25
　STR　16
　VIT　18
　SPI　16

　Skills
　Punch　Evade　Bite　Dash　Threaten　Echolocation
　Pursue　Self-recovery [Slight]　Magical Resistance [Medium]　MP Recovery [Medium]
　Transform　Spacetime Attribute　Light Attribute　Dark Attribute　Fire Attribute

What to do with Oma now?
Let’s switch him out.
I recall Oma and summon Kyokuya.
We should be getting into S1W4 in a little while.
So, how’s the situation over there?

No way.
This is absurd.

What do we see as soon as we enter the S1W4 map?
It’s not even a wetland.
It’s a swamp.

Where are the mudskippers?
That’s the first question that comes to my mind.

Should we give up?
But wait.
Wouldn’t it be better to fly here?
Before that, let’s check the surroundings with Call Monster.

Found some.
Argentavis, and at a high level too.
They also seem to form small flocks of two or three of them.
Maybe flying isn’t such a good idea.
It’s too dangerous.
Let’s refrain from having both Helix and Couturier fly too high as well.
This’ll make our search range narrower, but it’s the price I have to pay if I don’t want to risk aggroing those monsters.

So, no flying then.
However, I would definitely prefer not having to go through this swamp.
Isn’t there something we can do about it?
This is very puzzling.
I have Summoned Monsters that can easily go through this swamp.
But I can’t.

Hey…
Wait a minute.
It may be a bit too much, but what about that?
How’s my MP bar looking?
It’s almost completely recovered.
And my Mana Potions?
Though I’ve been using them a lot today, I still have plenty left in my inventory.
I’ll have to cast the spell and see the results.

「Ice Field!」

What is this?
This spell asks you to specify its range.
There are 3 options.
The first one is a full circle around you, with a radius of approximately 90 meters.
The second one is shaped like a fan, 90 degrees in front of you, with a radius of approximately 180 meters.
And the last one is a straight line, approximately 5 meters wide and 5,000 meters long.

This spell says that it freezes the surface in the specified range.
This effect lasts for 180 minutes.

Hey.
Wouldn’t it be possible to make an ice pathway with this?

I tried out all three options.
Whether it’s the swamp or just plain ground, the spell freezes it all over.
It’s frozen solid!
Even Zangetsu can walk on this ice.
But it’s slippery.
Very slippery.

In other words, would I need to use this other spell as well?

「Skating!」

I can’t gallop on Zangetsu here.
There are times when it feels different.
Like we’ll break through the ice.
The ice covering the surface of the swamp seems to be fairly thick, but it still doesn’t look like it’s thick enough to support Zangetsu’s weight.

Is there nothing I can do about that?
Let’s run fast.
No, no, wait.
Shouldn’t I say “skate” here instead of “run”?

I’ve changed my lineup.
I recalled Volff, Zangetsu, and Kyokuya.
Goukame, Taylor, and Strand take their places.
Will they be able to move easily through the swamp?
Goukame slowly enters the swamp and starts swimming at an unexpected speed.
Taylor dives into the swamp and starts swimming as well.
I quickly caught up with Goukame.
Strand spins around as he moves, covering himself in mud.
Are you okay?
Are you facing any troubles?
Nah, he’s fine.
It’s totally different from the mudskippers I wanted to see though!
Stand moves more like an eel.
And Goukame seems to be more energetic about this than Taylor.

Ah, that’s right.
There’s no real underwater combat here.
Wouldn’t it be nice to take these guys for a swim once in a while?

But still…
I won’t be taking Nias or Apnea out here.
Although they’re well equipped for moving through water, it’s best to avoid getting them covered in mud.

Well then, let’s go.
The current lineup is Helix, Goukame, Taylor, Couturier, and Strand.
I don’t usually see this lineup.
What’s the synergy here?
Well, if we get into a battle, we’ll work something out.
Ah, that’s right…
What kind of monsters are here? That’s yet another question, right?
I’ll be keeping my Petrified Wood Staff on hand to use as my main weapon.