I log back in at 6:30 AM.
Oops..!
I was having so much fun last night…
I"m a little late today, huh?
Fighting a lot of strong opponents is great, but it"s also important to take a break from it from
time to time.
I hurriedly summon Bunraku and hand him some cooking tools and ingredients.
What"s my team going to be for today?
The team for the Antman Cave is already decided.
But before that, let"s come up with a party specialized in movement.
I summon Zangetsu, Helix, and Heather.
I had used Grow on some saplings and used them as support for my tent.
Some of them already started to look like fine trees already.
So quickly…!
I wonder how the vegetables are doing?
It looks like this part of the field has been harvested many times already.
What a tremendous production power!
「Good morning, Keith.」
「Morning.」
The amount and variety of vegetables that Hannes had lined up today was clearly greater
than yesterday"s.
What a harvest!
He handed me so many things with such a smile on his face that I simply could not stop him
to see what exactly he was giving me.
Well, it looks like he was able to harvest a great variety of things.
Wouldn"t it be nice if there was some rice among these things?
Hmm, there seems to be a lot of processed foods, too.
I"d love some olive oil!
Back to Bunraku.
He"s finished preparing the meal.
What"s this?
【Food】 Grilled Fighting Bull Sirloin+ Satiety +30% Grade B- Rarity 5 Weight 0+
Gives the effect MP Recovery [Slight] for 15 minutes.
A simple dish made with a Fighting Bull Sirloin seasoned with salt, pepper, and herbs.
Very satisfying.
MP recovery?
Hey, Bunraku, what did you do?
Was it the ingredients?
But it"s just a regular sirloin…
【Material】 Fighting Bull Sirloin Raw Material Grade C+ Rarity 3 Weight 0+
A Fighting Bull sirloin. Its supreme quality is thanks to its softness and sweet flavor.
I"m going to eat this one, so there"s not much left.
Mmm!
I want another one!
Wait, that"s not it…
Why is it like this?
I"ll take a look over the desk where Bunraku was cooking.
The tools are the same as always.
The seasonings are the same as always.
Wait.
There"s something unusual there.
【Material】 Strange Salt (Holy) Grade C Rarity 3 Weight 0+
Sacred rock salt that has undergone a purification ceremony.
It can also be used as ordinary salt.
Uhh…
I think we"ve found the cause of this.
I"ll make a hard copy of this effect that I"ve found by using 【Appraise】.
I"ve just finished eating.
Ah, sirloin is so delicious!
What to do?
I feel that the information that I have is increasing in many ways.
Even when I"m this worried, my MP is recovering steadily.
I"m also scared about going to that meeting, too.
What should I do?
First, let"s get out of the village.
There"s too much noise here.
It"s getting bothersome.
Well, I managed to endure this well enough so far.
Should I go consult with Fiona?
Almost all of the usual faces are gathering at the meeting.
This time around, there are a lot of reports.
We must have pa.s.sed each other, but the Blacksmith"s Party has reached the relay portal in
the southern cave.
It seems that additional support parties will be dispatched, and this is where the Guide
Team"s cooperation will come into play.
Hmm.
Now I have fewer reasons to go to the cave.
If they end up fighting Gozus and Mezus there, they might struggle, but they should be able to
pull it off.
Well, I didn"t pay much attention to many of those reports.
I may have missed many other things.
I"ve only heard so much of it all.
「Fiona, do you have a moment?」
「Oh, is there something you want to ask me?」
「Well, it"s something like that…」
With a quick glance to the side, I see that Mio is there too.
She seems to have an indifferent expression on her face, but I can"t let my guard down.
「I"m carrying a lot of these.」
「Yeah, but one of them may have been released already.」
「Huh?」
「The Spell Archive t.i.tle. And the 【Speedcasting】 skill. I"ve seen the news in the forums.」
Oh?
Do you like taking a lot of magic skills, like I do?
Isn"t that funny?
「I"ve also gotten 【Whip】. But as for the 【Nunchaku】 skill, not yet.」
「Would it be all right to apply to the Union?」
「Mio?」
Fiona only stares at Mio, urging her to answer.
Mio seemed to have her objections but still played along obediently.
Saying you"re sorry, is important, all right?
『I think that a lot of players will probably start showing up having this Martial Arts Fighter
t.i.tle.』
『You think?』
『Yeah. Looks like it, though there have been reports of that Weapon Expert t.i.tle.』
『What is that?』
『It seems that you get it when the sum of all your weapon skills" levels reaches 50. I still need
at least six more skills to earn it myself.』
Is there such a thing?
I"m interested!
But I have to admit that getting it now is going to be tough.
Besides, there are players who fight with nothing but their bare hands.
Fiona affirmed that that seems to be the standard way to clear the conditions needed to
obtain that t.i.tle.
『I think that we"re starting to get more stuff for the higher ranks, little by little.』
『Then, is it okay if I don"t report anything?』
『People might not trust you, don"t you think? After all, everybody knows you have magic
skills..』
『After such a long time?』
『So, a food item with an MP recovery effect?』
『Huh?』
『It could be trouble.』
Right.
There are items that recover MP.
However, they are scarce and expensive.
It"s said that the ma.s.s production of MP potions using Magic Mushrooms is not yet on track.
It looks like it"s progressing smoothly, but there"s no other way than leaving it to the
alchemists.
However, the Guardian Deities are fated to be defeated one day.
One day, they will be defeated.
『At your current Level you"re liable to die a lot.』
『I think it"s quite likely to defeat them if the Guide Team is careful enough.』
『You think so?』
『For now, and I know this is more short-termed, but it"s up to the cooks to talk about this.』
『Yeah. I"ll indirectly pa.s.s this on to Mio and Yuka.』
『Is this some kind of secret?』
『Some kind of secret? I don"t really think it"s that big a deal.』
Oh boy.
Looks like they"re completely handing this over to Fiona.
While I"m here, I"ve decided to sell most of my spoils from last night"s hunt, save for the stuff I
need.
Though I"ll get the money for it another day.
After calling the union off, I promptly took my leave.
It would be quite a pain to pick a quarrel with Mio.
I go towards the edge of the village.
Today, Hannes kept saying "Go ahead, I"ll be fine" while being completely absorbed in using
Grow all over the place.
My MP is steadily recovering.
Moreover, I plan on riding on Zangetsu the whole trip.
All has been arranged so that my MP recovers completely.
It"s such a waste, though.
Not using my MP is such a waste.
I recall Bunraku and summon Ninetails.
I mount on Zangetsu while holding my Capture Rod of Torture.
Then, I ride north, towards the Antman"s Cave.
As if I was running away from something.
Being chased by Raptors is a pain, but at least I"m getting some Ancient Stones from them.
Plunging the Capture Rod of Torture into a Raptor"s jaws is a sight to behold, too.
The same can be said for their fainting in agony.
I"m starting a little later than usual today, so I"m seeing some other players around.
Particularly, hunting parties in these plains consist of a smaller number of players compared
to other places.
The Raptors, Enraged Cranes, and Brown Bears here don"t attack in groups here.
So it makes sense to hunt them in small parties.
My speed is not changing, despite having entered the forest.
I"m in a hurry, so I used Forest Walk on Zangetsu earlier.
I need to get there faster, faster!
My MP is almost full.
Now that the Antman"s Cave is right in front of me, I have to summon today"s main party.
I recall Zangetsu and Helix.
Then I summon Tigris.
And the fourth member will be Mumyo.
In terms of battle potential, it would be safer to just go with either Jericho or Senki, but I"ll dare
to go with Mumyo instead.
And why is that?
It"s because I"ll be going on ahead first.
Of course, I won"t be using the Capture Rod of Torture.
I"ll use the Staff of Torture instead.
Tonfas are a good option too, but my skill with staves will go dull if I don"t use one every now
and then.
I feel like it"s been ages since I last encountered an Antman.
As usual, these guys move as commanded, as if they were robots.
And they"re already chasing after me.
I"m making a train here since I antic.i.p.ate that there"ll be no other players around.
Of course, I plan on getting the whole lot of Antmen in one go.
I"m raising Tigris", Mumyo"s, and, naturally, my AGI with Physical Enchant: Wind.
Heather"s support further increases it as well.
I can definitely afford this.
You could say that with this many red markers in front of me, I"m walking on a tightrope.
Well, it"s about time, I guess.
「Fire Wall!」
「Magma Screen!」
I"m putting up these walls one after the other.
And as usual, the Antmen just throw themselves into them.
This is easy.
Those who pa.s.sed through the Magma Screen are almost dead.
I find it strange that some of them even survived that.
Let"s clear away with those.
Tigris is attacking with an amazing amount of energy.
Mumyo continues to fight disinterestedly.
And me?
Of course, I"m using the staff to fight to my heart"s content.
It"s good to annihilate them easily like this.
Cleaning up afterward is not so easy, though.
In the end, I quickly collect my loot from them and exit the cave"s main hall into a branched
road.
Well, rather than a branched road, I should say it"s an ant"s nest.
The walls also look different than the ones in the main hall.
These seem to have a bizarre striped pattern.
To put it clearly, they are creepy.
They"re here.
More Antmen.
This time, it"s in the middle of the nest, in these guys" control area.
I can hear a bizarre sound coming from somewhere.
To put it clearly, it"s unpleasant.
What"s more, they"re coming from the walls and ceiling, pointing their spears at us.
Some spears won"t be a problem, though.
The Antmen are huddling as if forming a huge cl.u.s.ter, turning them into an impenetrable
fortress.
They"re still too far away.
But still, let"s try to force our way through without worrying too much about it.
「Gravity Bullet!」
I"m not aiming at anything in particular, and just going for the center of the cl.u.s.ter.
Heather and Ninetails follow with their own attacks.
A blade of wind.
A lump of light.
The Antmen may have been trying to keep their strong defense, but they surely end up
breaking apart and falling to the ground.
Tigris throws himself at them.
Mumyo goes right after.
And I go, too.
It"s too narrow to fight side by side here.
Jericho might not have enough room to even move.
And it"s way too confined in here for Senki to go wild.
I"m glad I chose this party instead.
We press on while eliminating the opposition from the rest of the Antmen.
What about the inner part of the nest?
Judging from the Antmen"s reaction, I don"t think that"s the end of them.
They"re here, right?
The Queen, and the King, too.
They are here, right?
Well then.
I ended up in a sort of a s.p.a.cious room.
There are a lot of holes in it, too.
After using Flashlight, the light reflects on the phosph.o.r.escence of the walls.
I can see some things under that light.
There are several eggs laying on the floor.
They"re oval and milky-white, but their size is not average.
This seems to be the Antmen"s sp.a.w.ning grounds.
There are not many Antman p.a.w.ns.
But there are several others that seem to be the soldier type.
Antman Rook.
Antman Bishop.
Antman Knight.
It"s quite the array.
And of course, these too.
Antman Queen Lv.4
Monster Enemy Target Pa.s.sive
On the ground
Antman King Lv.4
Monster Enemy Target Active
On the ground
Hmm.
As expected, the King seems to be joining the fight as well.
The Antman King looks very similar to an Antman Rook, but with several spikes protruding
from the entirety of its body.
And then there"s the Antman Queen.
It"s absurdly huge!
But it doesn"t seem interested in fighting.
「Practiced Spirit!」
The Antmen"s behavioral pattern is pretty straightforward.
Protect the queen.
Protect the eggs.
That"s why they keep off intruders.
Three Knights come to attack us.
And four bishops follow.
The Rooks and p.a.w.ns a.s.sume a defensive position while protecting the queen.
But at first, I couldn"t tell these mobs apart.
「Fire Storm!」
Heather fires off a widespread attack with her wind blades.
Ninetails launches a lump of light at the king, who"s in the rear lines.
The sp.a.w.ning grounds has become a frenzied battlefield.
「Light Explosion!」
I fire off this spell as an Antman Knight was drawing near.
It still has about 20 percent of its HP left after the attack.
What a display of courage!
It"s now in front of me.
I thrust my staff into the place where the knight"s head and chest joins.
I apply a little leverage, and its head pops right off.
Oh, that was easy.
It was already dying, but still, what a fragile knight!
What about the other two knights?
They"ve been defeated by Mumyo and Tigris.
How fragile!
And what of the queen?
It"s finally turned to Active status.
But of course, since it has such a heavyweight-cla.s.s body, its movements are slow.
It"s kind of a shame that it"s so sluggish.
And the king?
It"s confused.
Moreover, it"s fighting with nearby rooks, who are also confused.
That"s because of Light Explosion"s effect.
The husband should be ashamed of itself, putting such a show in front of the wife!
「Thunder Shower!」
This attack might have hit all of the Antmen that were over there.
I"m confident that its range is pretty wide.
Mumyo attacks one of the rooks, and Tigris delivers the final blow.
The queen"s guards just lost another member of its ranks.
I go on slaughtering the four bishops with my staff.
My attack power has certainly risen.
And my defense is much better too.
I"ve received several attacks from the Antmen, but I"m receiving little to no damage from
them.
I turn to the queen.
It"s so huge!
But I can see that it"s body is full of cracks.
I"ve attacked it with all of my AOE spells, but it hasn"t decreased its HP by much.
About 70 percent still remains.
I aim at the base of one of its legs.
Then I use a spell I had already prepared.
「Lower DEF!」
I then thrust my staff onto the spot.
My attack breaks the carapace covering the base of that leg.
But it"s not over yet.
Tigris rushes to attack a rook that was crawling behind me.
Mumyo and I head to where it hit the ground and finished it off.
Heather"s wind blades. .h.i.t the queen"s chest directly.
A lump of light from Ninetails strikes hard onto the queen"s head.
The queen"s stunned.
All of the Antmen guarding the queen have been taken care of already.
The king has also been defeated while I wasn"t watching.
The queen starts attacking me with its legs, but its movements are sluggish.
Though they"re powerful.
Its legs have sharp claws, so I have to be careful.
Mumyo gets. .h.i.t once.
But it doesn"t seem to have been very effective.
This has been a desperate effort from the get go at best.
No level ups, huh?
I"ve only got some Antman Wax and Nectar.
Neither the king nor the queen drop anything.
What a shame.
They also weren"t as strong as the ones found in the southern cave.
But I"ve found quite the treasure inside the nest.
【Material】 Antman Queen"s Nectar Raw Material Grade C+ Weight 0+
Nectar to be used exclusively by the Antman Queen. Though it can be used as food, it is in
high demand due to its medicinal uses.
A larva that is fed this nectar continuously will grow into a queen.
The bag in which this nectar is deposited is made from Antman skin, and can also be used as
a water bottle.
I use my finger to try a little bit of it.
It"s so sweet!
Someone"s here to lick my finger…
It"s Ninetails.
Look at that tongue going!
Hey! Calm down!
Tigris is looking at me as if demanding something.
And Heather, too.
They continue to glare at each other as a strange tension begins to grow.
I"ve been completely defeated.
There"s no use in me resisting, so you can have some too, but just a little bit!
I burn down all of the eggs.
I can"t help but lose my appet.i.te.
That hole in the nest leads to a dead end.
So, have we completely eradicated all of the Antmen in this cave?
It doesn"t look like that.
As I return to the initial cave, I can see quite a few Antmen.
I can also see other parties struggling against the Antmen.
There definitely is another swarm of ants somewhere around here.
And I have defeated such a large number of Antmen so far…
Still they keep appearing in large quant.i.ties.
There has to be another swarm.
So I"ll try heading into another hole.
Just as I thought, there is another swarm.
What if there"s one inside every hole?
There can"t be such a huge number of Antmen!
Antman Queen Lv.4
Monster Enemy Target Pa.s.sive
On the ground
Antman King Lv.4
Monster Enemy Target Active
On the ground
These seem a little stronger than the others.
And the swarm seems to be even larger than before.
Can I make it? Can I defeat them all?
Since my best defense here is attacking with AOE spells here, the choice is easy here.
This is easier than dealing with Centaurs.
That"s how much I pity these guys.
I"m definitely hitting them with my AOE spells.
But still there"s one knight who"s made it to where I"m standing.
It"s hard to hit these guys once they"ve started moving.
I was just in time, just barely, though.
Heather and Ninetails really shine when there are a lot of enemies.
Not that I have a problem with that, though.
At last, the Info screen came after defeating the queen.
《【Staff】 Level Up!》
Hmm.
But I wanted something else.
The Antmen here don"t like me too much, do they?
Oh, I"ve got another Antman Queen"s Nectar!
Protagonist Keith
Race Human Male Racial Lv 14
Job Summoner Lv 14
Bonus Points Remaining 17
Skill Sets
Staff Lv 12 (↑1) Punch Lv 9 Kick Lv 9 Joint Lock Lv 9 Throw Lv 9
Evade Lv 9 Block Lv 9 Summon Magic Lv 14 s.p.a.cetime Magic Lv 7
Light Magic Lv 8 Wind Magic Lv 8 Earth Magic Lv 8 Water Magic Lv 8
Fire Magic Lv 8 Dark Magic Lv 8 Ice Magic Lv 6 Lightning Magic Lv 6
Tree Magic Lv 6 Dust Magic Lv 6 Lava Magic Lv 6 Steam Magic Lv 6
Alchemy Lv 6 Pharmacy Lv 5 Gla.s.smaking Lv 3 Woodworking Lv 5
Synergy Lv 10 Appraise Lv 10 Identify Lv 10 Discern Lv 3 Cold Resistance Lv 5
Grab Lv 8 Horsemanship Lv 8 Precise Manipulation Lv 10 Jump Lv 5
Heat Resistant Lv 5 Climb Lv 5 Dual Wield Lv 8 Disa.s.sembly Lv 6
Physical Reinforcement Lv 6 Mental Reinforcement Lv 7 Speedcasting Lv 9
Spell Effect Amplification Lv 5 Spell Range Expansion Lv 5
Equipment Kaya Wood Rod × 1 Kaya Wood Tonfa × 2
Capture Rod of Torture × 1 Enraged Pickaxe + × 2 Silver Necklace +
Snow Leopard Push Dagger × 1 Gale Tiger Push Dagger × 2 Snow Leopard Bagh Nakh × 1
Fighting Bull Leather Armor Set + Rampage Belt + Rucksack Item Box × 2
Items:
Survival Knife, Woodworking Tools
Old Summoner"s Temporary Pupil
Protector of the Forest
Man of the Middle Path
Spell Glossary
Martial Arts Fighter
Monster Summons:
Volff Grey Wolf Lv 3
Zangetsu White Horse Lv 1
Helix Fighting Falcon Lv 1
Obsidian Mystic Eye Lv 2
Jean Black Bat Lv 1
Jericho Wood Golem Lv 7
Goki Demon Lv 7
Senki Beast Ape Lv 7
Rig Slime Lv 6
Bunraku Wood Puppet Lv 5
Mumyo Skeleton Lv 5
Ninetails Red Fox Lv 4
Heather Fairy Lv 4
Tigris Tiger Lv 2