Chapter 329 Part 1
329
《You have received (1) message(s) from your friend(s).》
I logged in at 5:50 AM.
It’s the usual time, but…
I can see that a monster has suddenly appeared right outside of the Instant Portal.
It hasn’t noticed us, though.
Yeah…
Even though I already know that, I’m still nervous.
It’s neither a Chimera nor a Lamia, both of which I found last night with Call Monster.
It’s an Arachne.
【Identify】 isn’t working, but I know.
It’s moving slowly on the ground…?
Well, maybe it’s setting some kind of trap.
That’s dangerous.
Imagine if Modulus were to turn against me…
I don’t want to think about it.
It would be quite troublesome.
Alright, let’s summon Bunraku and have it prepare breakfast.
What about the message?
It’s from Kaya.
『I’ve received your request. Could you come here? I’ll be in Water Spirit Island during the morning.』
What will be my reply?
I’ll tell him that it’ll take me a little while, but I’ll go.
Going there is a bit time-consuming, but it’s not that big of a deal.
I thought I’d better reorganize some of my items.
I’ll get going after being done with both that and breakfast.
I should warp to Defense Valley, then to the island with the giant rock, and then fly from there, right?
Well, it’s a bit of a hassle, but let’s go with the usual lineup for this.
Heather, Aotsuki, Sputter, Setsui, and Ignis.
Alright, shall we get going?
After finishing my breakfast, I dispel the Instant Portal and use Return Home to warp back to Defense Valley.
From there, I warped back to the island with the giant rock on the E4 Map.
Unfortunately it’s raining.
Damn!
This is not going to stop me!
It should be fine once I get above the rain clouds.
But the sky above is quite turbulent.
So there are fewer monsters.
I’m grateful for that, but…
Simply riding on Aotsuki and flying…
That alone is very difficult.
It’s like there are several cumulonimbus clouds in a row.
How about taking a detour?
Everywhere I can think of seems similarly difficult to navigate through.
Somehow I managed to move forward at certain quiet intervals, but…
Monsters would also appear at those spots.
That’s right.
It’s true that there aren’t many monsters.
There aren’t many of them, but because they’re so densely packed, the battles are still intense!
Well, all I have to do is beat them up.
《【Balance】Level Up!》
It’s getting dangerous.
I’m having way too many battles with monsters!
Well, I’m literally rushing into places that are full of monsters, after all.
Despite defeating so many monsters, I can’t go retrieve their corpses, which is frustrating.
If I really wanted to get their items, I could go down to the sea and collect them, but…
There’s no time for that.
I just don’t like the rain.
The reason I chose Heather instead of summoning Obsidian was because I thought having access to her AoE attacks would be advantageous to us.
In a sense, it was the right choice.
However, it’s taking a heavy toll on her MP bar.
I’m getting so many battles that I barely have any time left to ride any kind of distance on Aotsuki.
I’m sorry, Heather…
But we’re going to have to do this the hard way, okay?
What time is it?
8:10 AM.
Maybe it was because I was only able to advance through gaps in the stormy clouds…
Maybe it was because I’ve had too many battles…
Or maybe it’s both.
But I’ve finally arrived at Water Spirit Island.
It’s a relief that it’s drizzling under the clouds.
「Hey, over here!」
「Hey.」
Kaya always gives off a friendly feeling.
His main Job is Blacksmith, but I also know that he kinda takes care of the Production Job players in both the southern and eastern areas.
I hear that he’s very well connected.
There are some familiar faces standing next to him…
Isn’t that Guren?
And even Mio and Reina have come here as well?
「Yo!」
「Good morning.」
Reina’s enthusiasm is unchanged, but…
These two seem to be working together.
Reina is here as a marker for Twilight Castle.
And Mio is here to become a new marker for Water Spirit Island.
Apparently, they’re also here to procure seafood.
They’re holding a bucket full of shellfish.
And next to Kaya, there is a player who looks nervous even at a glance.
「Nice to meet you. I’m Suzuhara, a Leatherwork Leader.」
「I’m Keith, an Arc Summoner.」
There was a brief silence.
Ah, that’s right.
I’ve undergone a Class Change, haven’t I?
「I’d like you to tell me more about that!」
Guren jumped straight at it.
Ah…
I feel like it’s going to take some time.
Before explaining, there were some things to take care of.
First, we went to the back of the port, in a corner of the ship repair yard.
This place even has a built-in marine railway, and a very elaborate one at that.
But it seems to be still under construction.
「Then, let’s take some measures.」
「Please do.」
I recall Heather and summon Apnea.
Even within the marine railway, Apnea still conspicuously floats a little into the water.
Well, it can’t be helped because he’s white.
「Kyu?」
Apnea sounds a little anxious.
Please bear with us for a moment, okay?
As for this Leatherwork Leader Suzuhara…
I hear that he’s the one who made the equipment for Suruga and Nonomuras’ Black Dolphins.
So, I think I can leave it to him.
He didn’t seem to have enough leather to have any ready-made equipment already prepared, so it’s going to have to be custom-made, but that can’t be helped.
By the way…
Measuring size underwater, huh?
That’s not something he can do without having the 【Swim】 and 【Dive】 skills.
Makes sense, since he mainly operates in the eastern area.
「So, how about this?」
「Ah…」
Kaya has some horseshoes in his hand.
The rivets for fixing them in place are also made of the same material.
【Equipment: Others】 Horseshoes of Torture Grade C+ Rarity 3
AP+2 Weight 0+ Durability 200 Magic Item No Attributes
Horseshoes used for cattle and horses used by Hell’s prison guards.
They’re made of a certain metal that shares some properties with copper and silver.
They’re said to have the power to condemn the dead.
Aotsuki…
Starting today, you’re joining the ranks of the prison guards of Hell!
You’ve been quite the executioner for a while now, after all!
It seems that the prototype was steadfastly made by Margrid at Twilight Castle.
It seems that information about these prototypes has quickly spread out all over the place.
The information network for Production Job players seems to be quite powerful.
While watching the size measurement, I spent some time chatting with Guren.
Or should I say, getting myself bombarded by his questions?
His face was completely pale.
Is he not feeling well?
I’m starting to feel a little worried…
By the way, what about the materials for custom-made equipment?
As far as leather goes, any source of it will do.
The only thing I have in stock is the Ice Flying Wyvern Hide.
Suzuhara looked surprised to see it, but I didn’t care.
Incidentally, I also asked him to make Black Dolphin-sized equipment.
I think Outerreef will be able to undergo his Class Change within a few days.
Once we’ve reached that milestone and his equipment is ready, we can head to the E5 Map.
I hear that Jirou and Jouji are fighting hard to reach the E6 Map.
「Then I’ll settle the bill for now.」
「Sure.」
The settlement of accounts was handled by a merchant belonging to the guild in Kaya’s area. Her name is Abigail.
It seems she hasn’t undergone a Class Change yet, but she’s an affable woman.
She’s much taller than me.
Yeah…
It’s refreshing to see some new faces.
I’ll be selling all of the many Red Corals I have.
I’m also selling all of the low-quality Akoya Pearl Oysters as they are.
The same goes for the Akoya Oysters I’ve already extracted pearls from.
They can still be used as food, and the shells themselves can be used for other purposes.
The same goes for the Silver-lipped and Black-lipped Oysters.
Though she was surprised to see those.
「Of course, you have extracted their contents, right?」
「Yeah.」
「If you’d like to use them for equipment, I can introduce you to a Jeweler.」
「No, I have something else in mind.」
That’s right.
I feel bad for Abigail, but I would like to ask a familiar craftsman to do it.
Besides, I’ll continue fishing for pearls today.
If I’m going to get more of these anyway, I might as well ask to have my gear created all in one go.
Also, I’ve already placed a separate order for equipment made with pearls.
The truth is that it would be a bother for me if the orders overlap.
The small talk continues.
I exchange information with Reina and consult with her about various things.
I also have the 【Woodworking】 Skill, but I haven’t reached Reina’s 【Woodworking】 level yet.
What we’re talking about now is scabbards.
The Quartz Illuminated Swords have a scabbard from the beginning.
For my Kukris, I’ve been using spare leather as makeshift scabbards.
So, I’ve decided to make a scabbard using the Kukris as a base.
「Perhaps using leather would be better.」
「Yeah, you’re probably right.」
Because the kukri sword is wide, so it’s difficult to wear them on my waist.
I usually secure them on the back side of my waist.
Using a wooden scabbard would only make setting them there even more awkward.
So we won’t be doing that after all.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Summoner is Going
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 Hours
Thanks for the treat.