Translator: Cryus Editor: Weasalopes
The next group of Haunted Mists was about half the size of the previous one.
I used Enchanted Weapon again halfway through the fight, and the monsters drained some of my MP yet again. Still, there wasn"t much of a problem.
We got 4 Magic Stones.
We"re on a roll.
「I don"t wanna waste the effects of Enchanted Weapon. Let"s keep going.」
「「Whaaa?」」
This time, I"m going straight to the monsters instead of using Call Monster.
I think I"m starting to become a monster myself.
《Your Monster Summon『Volff』has leveled up!》
《Please add 1 point to a desired stat.》
Volff has finally leveled up after his cla.s.s change.
The process for stat increase is still the same.
His STR has increased.
I"ll add 1 point to AGI.
Volff Gray Wolf Lv1→Lv2（↑1）
DEX 12
AGI 30（↑1）
INT 12
STR 15（↑1）
VIT 20
SPI 12
Skills
Bite Dash Threaten Divine Hearing Sense Danger Pursue Night Vision Conceal
Oops.
Enchanted Weapon is about to expire for Adele and Irina as well as their Monster Summons.
I still have some time left before it expires for me.
It"s probably because of the difference in our level.
Hmm…
I think we"ll take a break and drink some water.
「Are we going for the next one?」
「I"m not afraid anymore. Bring it on!」
Oh?
They"ve become more proactive.
Is it because of adrenaline?
Well, it doesn"t matter.
I"m calling over the next group of Haunted Mists while reapplying Enchanted WEapon.
This group is going to be a huge one.
We almost managed to wipe them all out without a hitch, but another monster has appeared.
It"s a Holy Wraith.
「Surround it!」
「Okay!」
「Got it!」
This is what I call teamwork.
It"s trying to use some of its special attacks, but we"re not giving it a chance.
We"re attacking it relentlessly.
It"s 13v1.
We finished the fight in just two minutes.
It shot a ball of water at us, but we simply deflected the attack.
It was perfect.
It was a bit of a pain the last time I had fought one of these.
Now it"s over in no time at all.
We got 5 Magic Stones from this fight, but the fact that we didn"t get hurt is more rewarding to me.
《【Wind Magic】Level Up!》
「That was a Holy Wraith. It"s a tough one. We should stay alert in case there are more of them.」
「Huh?」
「It felt kind of weak though…」
It"s just your imagination.
I wouldn"t be saying it if I didn"t experience it first hand.
Also, stop trying to pet Volff in secret, Adele!
Do it proudly!
Of course, I"m not going to tell her that directly.
Adele and Irina have 1 hour left.
We"re going to a different spot.
There"s a lot of monsters on the opposite side of the village from where we are.
I ended up using Call Monster on a large group of monsters.
But we"ve already gotten used to it.
In fact, it"s more efficient to kill them when they"re cl.u.s.tered together.
The risk is bigger, but so are the rewards.
But I"m still kind of disappointed.
The Haunted Mists didn"t put up much of a fight, even though I was just hitting them with my rod and kicking them.
I barely feel any sense of accomplishment.
After exterminating the group of Haunted Mists, I called another group.
Both Adele and Irina had about 30% of their MP stolen.
「This group is gonna be the last one. Give it everything you"ve got, guys!」
「Alright!」
「Let"s go!」
I called a slightly smaller group, which we spent some time to defeat.
Alright.
It"s been great.
We"ve picked up 28 Magic Stones in total.
The moment we stepped back into the Wind Spirit Village, Adele and Irina breathed a sigh of relief.
It was a rather huge sigh.
But it"s a little too early to relax.
It"s officially over only when you"ve logged out.
Adele and Irina are getting 9 Magic Stones each, while I"m getting 10.
I guess it"s pretty reasonable.
Adele and Irina are setting up a large tent next to the Fiona"s building.
Meanwhile, I"m enjoying the fluffiness of my Monster Summons.
Yup.
It definitely feels good.
Adele is looking at me in envy, but I"m not paying her any heed.
I"m going to be in trouble if I do.
They"ve finished setting up the tent, and are recalling their Monster Summons.
I a.s.sumed they were going to logout, but they"re not going inside.
Is there something else they want?
「Alright, time for our 8th Monster Summons!」
「Adele, I"ve decided on what I want. Have you?」
「Of course!」
Oh?
It"s their 8th Monster Summon.
They just reached level 8 for Summon Magic after the last fight.
「Summon Monster!」
Irina is going first.
It"s an Owl.
It has sparkling black eyes, just like Obsidian.
「I"ll call it Byakuya.」
That was fast.
She must have decided a while ago.
「Summon Monster!」
Now it"s Adele"s turn.
It"s a Wolf.
Hey.
That"s her 3rd one.
She"s really serious about her fluffy empire.
「I"m calling this one Kuro-chan! I"ll make her a Black Wolf!」
What the h.e.l.l.
She"s definitely serious.
Irina is forcing a smile.
Wait, isn"t Irina going to stick with Adele?
It must be tough for her.
Adele and Irina have recalled their new Monster Summons.
「It"s time to go. See you then.」
「It"s been a while since I"ve had so much fun! Looking forward to next time!」
「Same here. Goodnight.」
They"re waving goodbye and going into the tent.
It"s still 9 pm.
There"s no sight of anyone here in the village.
The players here have either logged out or are hunting monsters outside.
I still have about half of my MP remaining.
What should I do?
Obviously, I should continue hunting.
I"ll change my team a little.
I"m recalling Volff.
I"m summoning Mumyo, although I"m a little reluctant about it.
There"s mostly undead monsters at night.
He"ll have to work a lot harder.
I"m going to the west side and hunt some monsters that are slightly further away.
Before I could use Call Monster, a Brown Bear attacked us.
It"s been a while since I fought one, but I"m not at too much of a disadvantage since Senki is here.
I used Gravity Bullet and caused it to stagger. Senki is going in and strangling it.
He"s wrapping his arms and lifting up the bear"s head, causing it to suffocate.
Huh?
Senki doesn"t have the Joint Lock skill, does he?
Oh well.
I"ll just go in and kick its stomach.
「Groaaaaaar!」
Senki is letting out a roar while twisting the bear"s neck.
The bear"s HP was decreasing steadily for a while, but it"s completely gone now.
Hey.
He was definitely using a sleeper hold, even though it looked like he was using brute force.
Or is it just my imagination?
Hmm…
I shouldn"t worry too much about it.
Anyway, it"s time for the real thing.
I"m using Call Monster on a Haunted Mist while casting Enchanted Weapon on my entire team.
I managed to finish casting the spell on everyone before the monsters got here.
Volff isn"t here this time.
Neither are Adele and Irina.
Nor their Monster Summons.
I"m at half strength compared to earlier.
But I think I can win, as long as I keep fighting.
And something unexpected is happening in my favor.
It"s Mumyo.
Whenever he touches an Undead Mist, he burns away its MP.
The attack is ineffective against Mumyo.
Or rather, it"s working horribly against him. His MP is barely drained.
I got lucky.
Mumyo is swinging his hammer and shield, bashing the Haunted Mists around him
Mumyo does have a decent AGI stat. His attacks seem pretty fast.
In fact, he seems totally relaxed even while he"s putting down the monsters.
I"m surprised.
He"s actually really useful.
Though he looks like a villain.
Now that things are going well, I want more.
I still have some MP to spare.
We"re slaughtering one group of monsters after another. The groups are getting smaller in size.
Now we"re moving to the east side of the village.
Yet another large group of Haunted Mists with the help of Call Monster.
Just what I wanted.
I put up a bold smile and charge in.
It"s fitting for what I"m doing – trampling on them.
I have about 20% of my MP left, and it"s already 11 pm.
It"s almost time.
I made the next group of monsters my last one for today. After finishing them off, I got a bunch of system messages.
《【Staff】Level Up!》
《【Summon Magic】Level Up!》
《You have learned the Universal Healing Spell: Restore!》
《You have learned the Universal Resistance Spell: Enervate Undead!》
《You have learned the【Summon Magic】spell: Switch Monster!》
《You may now summon or recall a Monster Summon with equipment!》
《You have gained a Racial Level! Please add 1 point to a desired stat.》
I"ve already decided what to do with my stats.
I"ll add points to the stats that"ll help me as a magic user.
What exactly am I going to do?
I"m going to make all of my stats to be multiples of 8.
I"m increasing my INT now.
After this, I"ll add points to SPI.
I"ll keep doing this until my INT and SPI have reached 24.
Base Stats
DEX 16
AGI 16
INT 21（↑1）
STR 16
VIT 16
SPI 20
《You have gained 2 Bonus Points. You currently have a total of 14 Bonus Points.》
That"s not all.
《Your Monster Summon『Mumyo』has leveled up!》
《Please add 1 point to a desired stat.》
He"s leveling up pretty quickly, since his level is still low.
His DEX has increased.
I"ll a.s.sign 1 point to VIT.
Mumyo Skeleton Lv2→Lv3（↑1）
DEX 15（↑1）
AGI 15
INT 11
STR 11
VIT 11（↑1）
SPI 11
Skills
Hammer Buckler Block Physical Resistance [Slight] Self Repair [Medium] Dark Attribute
The numbers are lining up perfectly.
I"m pretty sure the next level up is going to ruin the pattern though.
I hurry back to the Wind Spirit Village and set up a tent next to Adele and Irina"s.
There"s a lot of things I want to get done.
I"ve finished setting up the tent, and now I"m recalling all of my Monster Summons.
I"m going to summon a new companion now.
It"s my 12th one.
This time, I"m not going to worry too much about my decision.
I"ll just pick the first one on the list.
Ninetails Red Fox Lv1
DEX 8
AGI 20
INT 18
STR 8
VIT 8
SPI 18
Skills
Bite Evade Dash Predict Danger MP Regeneration［Slight］ Light Attribute
Oh?
I think it"s the first time I"m seeing the Predict Danger skill.
It seems different compared to Sense Danger.
And this Monster Summon has a Light Attribute.
But his stats and skills make it look like he"s not really suited to be in the front lines.
I should pay close attention to him.
I"m gently petting the Ninetails on his head and back to get a feel of him, so to speak. Now I"m recalling him.
This should do for now.
I really spent too much time on Woodworking and polishing the Ancient Stones.
I probably shouldn"t worry about it too much since I"m logging out soon, but my common sense is really getting in the way of my tasks.
Alright, what else do I need to take care of before logging out?
I should check on my new spells.
I make my way into the tent and remove my equipment. I"m looking at my list of spells while laying on the ground sideways.
Switch Monster is the most interesting spell here.
The description says that I can switch out a single Monster Summon once per battle.
The cooldown takes about an hour, so it"s not something I can use freely.
There was also an important piece of information that appeared as a system message when I obtained this spell.
It said that I can now summon and recall Monster Summons without removing their equipment.
If I do that, then Goki, Bunraku, and Mumyo won"t have any equipment on hand. They"ll be completely useless.
But now I can let Goki hold on to his hatchet and shield without having to worry about stuffing them into my《Item Box》.
It"s a useful spell, to be sure.
But Goki and Bunraku can"t use the same bow and arrows. I"ll have to prepare another set.
I can do that.
Onto the next spell.
Restore is a recovery spell that nullifies all debuffs on the target.
Even if there are multiple debuffs, a single spell can fix it.
But there"s a chance of failure.
I guess you could fumble the spell, and I shouldn"t rely on it too much anyway.
I"m sure it"ll come in handy though.
The last one is Enervate Undead.
It"s a resistance spell that weakens undead monsters.
It has a wide area of effect.
It only works on monsters, but I"m sure it"s a great spell.
I remember what Fiona asked from me earlier.
To provide information about new spells.
I"ll do just that.
I"m taking a look at the forums.
It"s chaotic as ever.
That"s the only way I can describe it.
I"ve finally found the relevant thread I"m supposed to post on.
I"m writing the Level 3 s.p.a.cetime Magic spells I learned earlier.
I"ll just write a quick post without revising it.
Alright, time to sleep.
I tuck myself into my blanket and logout.
I"ll have to remember to make my push daggers and investigate the Ancient Stones further tomorrow.
For some reason, even though it"s just a game, it feels comforting to have goals and tasks.
The fact that there"s no deadline makes it even more rea.s.suring.
At least, it"s a lot better than having absolutely nothing to do and being bored to death.
Protagonist Keith
Race Human Male Racial Lv12（↑1）
Job Summoner Lv11
Bonus Points Remaining 14
Skill Sets
Staff Lv10（↑1）Punch Lv6 Kick Lv7 Joint Lock Lv6 Throw Lv6
Evade Lv7（↑1）Block Lv6 Summon Magic Lv12（↑1）s.p.a.cetime Magic Lv5
Light Magic Lv6 Wind Magic Lv7（↑1）Earth Magic Lv6 Water Magic Lv6
Fire Magic Lv6 Dark Magic Lv6 Ice Magic Lv4 Lightning Magic Lv4
Tree Magic Lv4 Dust Magic Lv4 Lava Magic Lv4 Steam Magic Lv4
Alchemy Lv6 Pharmacy Lv5 Gla.s.smaking Lv3 Woodworking Lv4
Synergy Lv9 Appraise Lv8 Identify Lv8 Discern Lv3 Cold Resistance Lv5
Grab Lv7 Horsemanship Lv7 Precise Manipulation Lv9 Jump Lv4
Heat Resistance Lv4 Climb Lv4 Dual Wield Lv6 Disa.s.sembly Lv4
Physical Fortification Lv4 Mental Fortification Lv5 Speedcasting Lv6
Equipment Kaya Wood Rod ×1 Kaya Wood Tonfa ×2 Enraged Pickaxe+×2
Silver Necklace+ Snow Leopard Push Dagger ×1 Gale Tiger Push Dagger×2
Wild Horse Leather Armor+ Snow Ape Armguard Wild Horse Boots+
Snow Ape Leather Helmet Rabid Horse Belt+ Rucksack Item Box ×2
Items Survival Knife Woodworking Toolkit
t.i.tles Old Summoner"s Pupil, Protector of the Forest, Man of the Middle Path
Spell Archive
Stats
DEX 16
AGI 16
INT 21（↑1）
STR 16
VIT 16
SPI 20
Monster Summons
Volff Gray Wolf Lv1→Lv2（↑1）
DEX 12
AGI 30（↑1）
INT 12
STR 15（↑1）
VIT 20
SPI 12
Skills
Bite Dash Threaten Divine Hearing Sense Danger Pursue
Night Vision Conceal
Zangetsu Horse Lv7
Helix Hawk Lv6
Obsidian Owl Lv6
Jean Bat Lv6
Jericho Wood GolemLv5
Goki Demon Lv5
Senki Beast Ape Lv6
Rig Slime Lv4
Bunraku Wood Puppet Lv4
Mumyo Skeleton Lv2→Lv3（↑1）
DEX 15（↑1）
AGI 15
INT 11
STR 11
VIT 11（↑1）
SPI 11
Skills
Hammer Buckler Block Physical Resistance［Slight］ Self Repair［Medium］ Dark Attribute
Ninetails Red Fox Lv1（New！）
DEX 8
AGI 20
INT 18
STR 8
VIT 8
SPI 18
Skills
Bite Evade Dash Predict Danger MP Regeneration［Slight］ Light Attribute