Chapter 325 Part 1
325
《You have received (1) message(s) from your friend(s).》
《You have received some information from the GMs. Do you wish to read it?》
I’ve logged in.
The time is around 5:40 AM, but…
Who is the message from?
The title is a reply to a message I sent.
So this is from Fiona.
『Could you please contact me via Telepathy before noon today? Thank you.』
Hmm…
Please give me a moment.
First, I need to summon Bunraku and have it prepare breakfast.
Let’s have meat in the morning.
It’s been a long time since I had offal for breakfast.
Stewed offal is delicious with bread, but still… I’m yearning for some rice.
This ambition may be close to being fulfilled, though.
As for the other notification…
What is the GM information about?
《Regarding various inquiries》
I wonder what’s up with this…
Should I give it a quick read?
《We have received several comments, requests for corrections, requests for disclosure, and so on.》
Huh?
I wonder what this unsettling feeling is.
《We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, but there is no information to be disclosed by the side of the GMs at this time.》
No beating around the bush, huh?
The wording is polite but very straightforward!
I’ve heard in various conversations that the GMs have a hands-off way to manage the game, but…
Now that we’ve come this far, it wouldn’t be strange for them to become more headstrong.
Oh well.
Let’s get the other thing done.
I use the Telepathy spell.
『Oh, hey Keith. Sorry to take your time so early in the morning.』
「No, I should be the one apologizing.」
That’s right.
This is important.
We might be in a game, but this is still related to the necessities of life.
It’s also directly connected to a very particular desire.
We can’t skimp on effort here.
『There’s a bit of commotion. I’d like to hurry if possible. Which Map are you on right now?』
「I’m in… E4.」
I hear nothing but silence.
Huh?
Did I say something strange?
『So you’ve headed east this time around, huh?』
「That’s right.」
Well, I couldn’t help it!
It’s almost as if I had gone with the flow!
Though in a sense, I’m glad I ended up coming here.
It’s been very convenient for training Apnea.
『Wait a minute. Do you know about the Water Spirit Island? It’s the area portal for the E2 Map.』
「I haven’t been there yet. Is it in the center of the Map?」
『It’s quite large compared to the surrounding islands, so it should be easy to find.』
Hmm.
It feels like she’s also talking with someone else using the Whisper function.
It seems that someone else is nearby as well.
One of the Production Job players, perhaps?
『I have a marker, so I can use Return Home to warp there right away.』
「E2, right? I’m going to need a little time to get there, since it’s two Maps away from this one.」
Yeah.
I don’t think it would take Aotsuki more than an hour to get there.
It depends on how many encounters we get on the way, though.
The Telepathy link is cut off.
Hmm…
I have high hopes for this as well.
Let’s hurry.
I want to eat cooked rice.
I have no complaints about Bunraku’s cooking, but rice is still the staple food.
Desire is the most powerful motivator.
We set out as soon as we’re done eating.
What’s the lineup?
It’s Obsidian, Aotsuki, Sputter, Setsui, and Ignis.
We gotta make sure to steadily increase our fighting power even during short trips.
Come to think of it, something is different.
Monster encounters in mid-air are becoming strangely frequent.
It’s okay to fight to some extent, though
Frigatebird Lv.5
Demon Enemy Target Active
Battle Position: Mid-Air
We can beat these.
We do take some damage in the process, though.
But that’s not a problem.
My Summoned Monsters are just as good in terms of aerial mobility.
With my support, I think the Summoned Monsters alone can take care of killing them.
It depends on how many Frigatebirds we fight at a time, though.
However…
There’s something I had forgotten about.
Their corpses will obviously fall into the sea below us.
Should I go down and try to get the loot?
No, let’s not do that.
No matter how you look at it, it takes a lot of time.
I’d also like to avoid being attacked by Fish-type monsters in the sea right now.
So I’ll have to give up on these birds’ items.
But now that I think about it, isn’t it strange?
We didn’t encounter any monsters in mid-air when we came here from Master’s house before, did we?
No, we definitely didn’t.
Something was definitely going on back then.
Maybe a Skill that is the exact opposite of Couturier’s Lure?
Or maybe it’s a spell.
That’s very possible.
I don’t think I’ve seen all of Master’s tricks.
I’m sure he still keeps a few of them up his sleeve.
We’re rushing into the E3 Map, but…
Here’s a monster I’ve never seen before.
Flying Hand Lv.3
Demon Enemy Target Active
Battle Position: Mid-Air Wind Attribute
What is this?
Well, it’s just as the name suggests.
Something that looks like a severed hand is flying in mid-air.
What’s more, it’s quite large.
It feels like it would have no trouble grabbing something the size of a human.
Oh no.
I’ve just pictured myself being grabbed by that creepy hand.
However, this monster isn’t all that scary.
It reminds me of those flying severed heads, also known as Floatheads.
Its attacks are quite telegraphed, too.
If it’s clenched into a fist, it will charge and punch you.
If the fist is open, it will try to grab you.
And if it’s pointing at you with its index finger, it will shoot out a Wind Blade.
I could tell right away.
It’s crazy to say this, but it’s easier to fight than those Floatheads.
Well, I guess I can say that because I’m riding Aotsuki.
I’m in a hurry.
But I don’t think these will let me through that easily.
I noticed it after several kills…
These guys only appear at moderate altitudes.
Not too high up in the sky.
And not too low.
What to do?
I’m in a hurry, so I’ll try flying a little lower.
I should avoid going too high up in the sky.
There might be something up there.
Flying Fin Lv.2
Demon Enemy Target Active
Battle Position: Underwater, Mid-Air Water Attribute
It seems that these guys are in charge of the lower altitudes, huh?
These are the ones I fought at the Twelve Generals’, but the ones here come in numbers that are completely different from those.
Come on!
Don’t be a hassle!
Yes, these guys don’t just fly.
They can also hide underwater and then jump out into the sky to attack!
How do I fight these?
What should I do?
I ended up just running away from them.
Taking these guys seriously would’ve been absurd.
Rather, these are the kind of monsters that should be hunted aboard a ship.
That’s right.
They’re in the domain of Fishermen.
Let’s prioritize moving forward.
Even in E2, I kept on getting new experiences with monsters.
This time it’s a flock of them!
Wild Albatross Lv.2
Demon Enemy Target Active
Battle Position: Mid-Air
Long time no see.
I thought it would be a good idea to deal with these seriously, but it would be annoying to deal with each of them one by one.
So we defeated them using AoE offensive spells.
Obsidian, Aotsuki, Sputter, Setsui, and even Ignis.
Each of them used their special abilities to attack the monsters that gathered around them.
There was no point in aiming.
It’s a lavish use of Area-of-Effect attacks, but if we hadn’t done that, these monsters could’ve ganged up on us.
Birds are scary when they flock together.
Too scary.
The markers in front of me were bright red, but they disappeared all of a sudden.
What a relief…
But I couldn’t get any items from them either.
All I could do was look at the dead birds floating on the sea surface.
This won’t do.
Why are there so many monsters?
Am I being harassed here?
Let’s check with Call Monster.
Yeah.
There’s nothing to be done about the size of those flocks.
That’s how many of them there are.
This looks like it’s going to be more troublesome than I thought.
《【Grab】Level Up!》
《【Horsemanship】Level Up!》
《【Mental Reinforcement】Level Up!》
《Summoned Monster『Sputter』 Level Up!》
《Please add 1 point to a desired stat.》
The Wild Albatrosses won’t let up.
This has to be the third attack by a flock of them now.
It’s very good in terms of experience points, but…
Of course, there are risks involved as well.
It’s great that Spatter leveled up, but the damage we’re taking can’t be ignored either.
Sputter’s SPI increased automatically upon leveling up.
Let’s choose AGI as his second stat increase.
Sputter Fighting Falcon Lv4 → Lv5 (↑1)
DEX 13
AGI 29 (↑1)
INT 22
STR 13
VIT 13
SPI 15 (↑1)
Skills
Peck Flight Far Sight Wide Area Search Ambush Sense Danger Air Mobility
Wind Attribute
If it were only our HP bars decreasing, there wouldn’t be a problem.
However, Ignis has suffered a mild status ailment.
And Setsui’s MP bar is at its limit.
It’s understandable since they’ve been using their abilities extensively.
But it’s time for a change.
Let’s recall Setsui and Ignis.
And summon Ninetails and Kotohogi to replace them.
When facing those Wild Albatrosses, this combination should be more effective than relying on Couturier.
Ninetails sits gracefully on the saddle in front of me.
This should be enough.
Despite being a trickster, Ninetails’ attack power based on his special abilities is quite effective.
I’m counting on you, okay?
When the next island came into view, I could quickly tell this one was the Water Spirit Island.
It’s a large arc-shaped island located almost in the center of the E2 map.
A village can be seen behind its arc-shaped sandy beach.
Ah, finally a chance to rest!
That’s how I feel.
After all, we’ve been fighting these flocks of Wild Albatrosses non-stop!
Defeating them is fine, but the fact that I can’t get any loot from them is starting to get on my nerves.
This is getting painful.
What time is it?
8:30 AM.
Considering I was traveling on Aotsuki, it took quite some time to get here, didn’t it?
I land at the edge of the sandy beach where there seems to be a few people.
No one pays attention to me.
I look around from the top of the sandy beach, but there’s no sign of any monsters.
But this is only natural, isn’t it?
I’m already in the territory of the area portal.
I can use the menu.
The wide area map also confirms this.
This is the Water Spirit Island.
I ride Aotsuki along the sandy beach.
The sea breeze feels good.
Galloping on horseback on the ground also feels nice.
Hmm?
I’m starting to see a few tents up ahead.
I’m probably getting close to a village.
I wonder what kind of place it is.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Summoner is Going
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 Hours
Thanks. 🖖