Translator: Charlotte
I ate breakfast at a nearby street stand and headed to the Adventurer"s Guild.
The Guild Leader was absent, but I saw that the usual middle aged staff member was waiting for me.
「I"m incredibly sorry, he"s been busy with expansion work since last night.」
「Is there some kind of problem?」
「Construction work is proceeding at a really slow rate. He"s there with the town mayor to work things out.」
Must be difficult, being an important person.
Lots of meetings.
Sometimes you"d have meetings to prepare for another meeting too. Now that would be troublesome.
「So, what about today"s quest?」
「Same as yesterday"s.」
Potion bottles, huh.
I"m not complaining.
《You have received a quest from the Adventurer"s Guild. Do you wish to accept it?》
「I"ll accept it, of course」
《You have accepted a quest from the Guild! After finishing work, please accept the proof-of-work chip from the gla.s.smaker"s shop and hand it to the guild counter.》
A continuation of yesterday"s work.
My goal for today is to make bottles of higher quality, and at a higher rate.
I"d like everything to be over Grade C-.
It was a reachable goal, but nonetheless, a goal I would have to work hard for.
「Oh! You came again! You"ll be a great help!」
「Looking forward to working with you today, too」
No matter what time I came, Nils was always present.
It was the same yesterday, and if you compared his breaks with the other workmen, his breaks were definitely shorter.
And what little time for breaks he did have, he spent on meetings with the other workmen, or guiding the beginners.
Well, that"s middle management for you.
Let"s get started.
I used【Physical Enchant: Aqua】to raise my DEX stat.
Using the spell【Air Current Control】, I could control the amount of air going into the mould.
Same method I used yesterday.
My first three bottles were all Grade C.
The two after that were Grade C+. The one after that was another Grade C.
Some of the sense that I had yesterday was coming back.
I got a little absorbed in the process, and continued working for a while.
I took a short break, then continued with my work.
Yeah, I"m going at a good pace today.
After finishing my second break and walking back into the workshop, I saw Fay, working on a gla.s.s bottle.
Next to him was the same newcomer I saw yesterday.
「Hey, morning. You"re already back from your break? You started early today, huh」
「Good morning. My second break, to be exact」
「Wow, really early」
「I want to finish just in time for lunch」
「Ah, that"s why」
The newcomer gave me a short bow. I returned it.
「I"m a gla.s.sworker. My name is Mitsurugi!」
「The name"s Keith. I"m a summoner. Nice to meet you」
Mitsurugi looked pretty energetic. He had a likeable and youthful look on him too.
But we had no time for small talk.
Under Nils"s watchful eye, we exchanged names and got back to work.
The three of us stood in a line, making empty bottles.
My opponent here was now the newbie. I may lose in terms of speed, but I won"t lose in terms of quality, you hear me?
When it was break time again, I compared our results. His work was pretty close to mine in terms of quality.
Mitsurugi"s work ranged from Grade C- to Grade C. I wasn"t that much better.
Hmm.
You"re pretty good, aren"t you.
「Have you seen the forums since then? It"s going wild right now, your post made an insane impact」
「The one on Wild Dogs?」
「Yeah, Wild Dog numbers have been falling like a stone lately. In fact, there hasn"t been a single party that"s reached the Wild Dog Boss yet」
「Although I feel like too many people are jumping on the bandwagon」
「Right? But it"s that feeling of being at the top that gives hunting its charm」
Only Fay and I were chatting.
Mitsurugi looked like he was paying attention, but I wonder where he is in his head right now.
「I"ve got something I want to you two about, is that alright?」
「Hmm?」
「What"s up?」
「The truth is, I haven"t taken any Magic Skills at all. Which one do you guys think would be the best for a gla.s.sworker?」
You"re asking me to help you overcome me?!
Well, for now let"s hear him out.
He said he wanted to avoid being a jack of all trades, but a master of none. So, he wanted to take just one elemental magic skill.
Looked like he got quite self-conscious, looking at Fay"s and my work.
Fay didn"t take any Magic Skill except【Fire Magic】.
He recently leveled it to Lv.3, giving him the spell【Resist Fire】. Along with【Heat Resistance】, they were greatly helpful in surviving the extreme heat.
Because of those skills, he could focus a lot more on the work, without getting distracted by the heat.
I saw him at work earlier, and while his work was still mostly Grade C, he could produce bottles far faster than I could.
Professionals were really on a different level.
I had a completely different strategy, and different spells to make it work.
I used【Physical Enchant: Aqua】to increase my DEX stat, and【Air Current Control】to keep the amount of air precise.
Thanks to those skills, I could make bottles of pretty good grade even though gla.s.s working wasn"t my main job.
Mitsurugi was working in between Fay and me, so he was surrounded from both sides by magic users.
He probably got quite uncomfortable from that.
「With【Resist Fire】everything definitely gets a lot easier. But you can do what Keith is doing too, that"s fine」
「Is it that effective?」
「Well, Yeah. Hey how about this, let"s both use our magic skills on each other. This way you can find out for yourself how effective【Resist Fire】is」
「Oh, that"s a good idea. We can use our skills on you too, Mitsurugi, see which method you like better」
「Oh, would that be alright?」
「I"ve got some interest in【Fire Magic】myself」
「I"d like to know how effective the spells Keith are using too. I wonder if they would increase the Grade of my work」
And with that, our experiments began.
I really loved this kind of exchange.
It was my favourite.
First up was【Resist Fire】.
If it was strengthening magic or recovery magic, players could cast spells on one another without fail 100% of the time. Well, if you don"t resist, that is.
Of course, I didn"t resist Fay casting the spell on me.
【Resist Fire】lasted for 10 minutes.
I looked up the durations of【Resist Wind】and【Resist Aqua】. They were the same.
I wonder how much effect it would have in combating the scorching heat of the workshop.
It was immense.
I had【Heat Resistance】, which surely contributed a bit, but working in the workshop became completely painless.
Concentrating on my work became easy. My head felt really clear.
I could easily get a Grade C where I would usually get a Grade C-.
Hey, this was actually really nice.
Although the heat felt much worse when the spell stopped in the middle!
I could do work for about 30 minutes at a time, so I got Fay to cast the spell on me another two times.
It definitely got a lot easier.
I felt like I could keep going even without a break.
「Well, that"s pretty much how it goes. How was it, Mitsurugi」
「It got really easy out of a sudden. The grade of my gla.s.s bottles went up too」
I totally agree with you.
Oh no.
Maybe I should learn【Fire Magic】.
I"ve got a lot of Bonus Points after all.
Hmm…
I wonder if I should…
After we took another break it was my turn.
I cast a combination of【Physical Enchant: Aqua】and【Air Current Control】on the three of us.
The annoying part was that they had different durations.
【Physical Enchant: Aqua】lasted for about 15 minutes, while【Air Current Control】lasted for only around 10.
In the last 10 minutes, Fay cast【Resist Fire】on top of my spells.
Those 10 minutes were the most comfortable.
I managed to consistently get Grade C+.
That was nice.
【Resist Fire】, huh.
What a nice skill… I want to learn that skill…
When I came back to myself, I realised I had learnt【Fire Magic】.
Ah, did I just do something?
Ah, what was I thinking?
Didn"t Mitsurugi just mention how learning many elemental magic skills made you a jack of all trades, but a master of none?
How careless of me…
When I came back to myself, I realised I had learnt【Dark Magic】too.
Might as well go all the way.
"Not like I can take it back," I thought, and before I knew it I took the skill.
Might as well.
I spent 2 points on【Fire Magic】and 3 points on【Dark Magic】, for a total of 5.
I hope I didn"t waste too many points.
During another break, I checked up on our work.
If Fay did his work slowly and carefully, he could get a bottle of Grade B.
Wow.
My limit was C+.
「You see that Mitsurugi? That"s the kind of sense you want to go for」
「Sorry, I"ve just gotten more confused. I really want to use both. And there"s something weird」
「Weird?」
「After finishing that bottle, the skill【Precise Manipulation】became available to me」
「Hey, lucky. I have that one too, it"s pretty good」
Looked like Fay knew【Precise Manipulation】too.
Well I suppose to those in jobs that needed skillful fingers, it was an invaluable skill.
「I just learnt the skill」
「Are your Bonus Points doing alright?」
「No problem, I still have enough for a Magic Skill or two」
「Cool, what do you think, Keith?」
「Hmm…【Heat Resistance】helps a lot, but with【Resist Fire】you can really "feel" the bottle, you know? I actually really like【Fire Magic】」
「Is that so?」
「Yeah. With【Wind Magic】or【Water Magic】alone, their effects are pretty weak. If I knew about this earlier, I probably would have chosen【Fire Magic】」
「Well then, what do you think, Mitsurugi?」
Mitsurugi made a difficult face, but quickly decided.
「I"ll take【Fire Magic】」
「Is that so. But that combination of【Wind Magic】and【Water Magic】was pretty nice」
Saying that, Fay started telling us a sort of story.
「I asked my hunting friends about it, and I"ve really gotten a liking for Wind and Water Magic」
「Really?」
「Well, yeah. That Grade B was pretty charming. I"m expecting to grow a lot stronger in the near future too, so it"s really something I can"t just overlook」
Our break ended, and the three of us got back to working on bottles.
This time we used all three types of magic from the beginning.
Our work moved along at a nice pace, and it was comfortable work too.
When I finished the last bottle for that day, a message popped up.
《【Gla.s.s Working】Level Up!》
《【Heat Resistance】Level Up!》
《Your friend has sent you a message.》
That last message got buried a bit.
When I checked it out, it was a message from Saki.
Was it announcing the completion of my long-awaited armour?
『I finished your helmet. I"m working on your boots and belt right now. Meet up at Mio"s place』
It was done…
Included was a screenshot of Mio wearing a helmet.
What"re you doing!
I used【Appraise】to check its stats.
【Armour: Helmet】Snow Ape"s Helmet Grade C+ Rarity 3
Def+5 Weight 2 Durability 120
A helmet made from the skin of a Snow Ape.
Layered with hard leather, it"s a good item for increasing defensive capabilities.
Yeah, it looks pretty nice.
I"ll send a reply later.
「Good work today! You"re good for today, Keith. Why don"t you eat lunch with us!」
「Alright」
Today"s work was a lot more comfortable than yesterday"s, but I was still similarly drenched in sweat.
After gulping down a cup of water, Nils handed me a lump of gla.s.s.
It was different from what I got yesterday, an opaque lump of uniformly yellow gla.s.s.
「Well, I"ll be taking my leave now」
「Alright, see ya!」
I exchanged goodbyes with Fay and Mitsurugi, and went to eat lunch in the shop"s waiting room.
I felt a great sense of satisfaction.
It was a triumphant feeling.
I finished my lunch in a good mood, and headed towards the Adventurer"s Guild.
When I showed my face at the Adventurer"s Guild, the usual middle aged staff member called out to me.
Looked like the Guild Leader hadn"t come back.
The atmosphere was tense. Looked like they were preparing for an argument.
The middle aged staff member looked like he was used to dealing with bad customers, but today he looked strangely nervous.
I handed over the lump of gla.s.s I received from Nils, and got two 100 Dyn coins and three 10 Dyn coins in exchange.
Hey, looks like my reward has gone up again.
《Adventurer"s Guild"s a.s.signed Quest Clear!》
《2 Bonus Points awarded! You now have 17 Bonus Points!》
2 Points, huh.
I was certainly making progress.
One little step at a time.
Now, what should I do for the afternoon?
Hunting, of course. Why did I even bother asking.
But the Remut area was full of players, not the best for hunting.
I suppose I could hunt in the Western Forest again, but I"d kill for some variety.
There was a port town to the east, facing the ocean.
Mountains to the north, and they were high mountains too, with temporary camps scattered about.
To the south was uncultivated land, along with the occasional quarry here and there, but I"ve only heard about the place.
Let"s look around and check for any places that might be future bases of operation.
Starting from the port town to the east. It was a quite lively place.
In the plains of the outskirts of Remut was a view quite different from the view inside the town.
The roads were -compared to Legias too- a lot wider, and there was a lot more pedestrian traffic.
The roads looked well-maintained too.
The road I was on started following a river"s flow in the middle, and if you followed it, you would reach the mouth of the river and the port town.
There was a lot more farmland, and a lot less monsters, compared to Remut.
The road turned along with the river bank, and continued onwards.
From the road you could see fields and pastures spread out before you.
Looked like a place with good public order.
There were no monsters whatsoever.
I heard the optimal hunting grounds were on the beach, but I didn"t think they meant there would be no monsters at all along the river.
I climbed up away from the river bank at times, and gazed off at the flow of the river.
The river was very broad, and I saw some marshlands too.
Helix was standing on my shoulder, and it looked like his eyes were taken by something.
In the tall, overgrown gra.s.s, it was difficult to tell if something was hiding there. But I knew something was definitely there.
Some kind of monster that lived above the river bank?
And it would go and look for food inside the river?
It was difficult to get a foothold up here, and hunting in the river wasn"t very appealing to most players after all.
Speaking of players, there weren"t many of those either.
I arrived at the port town.
Looked like two separate towns, squeezing in from both sides into the mouth of the river.
Hanging from the town gate was a virtual window, bearing the town"s name.
Regia.
Based on the sign on the other side of the river, the town on the other side of the river mouth was called Salt Rock.
From the outside, the scale of the town looked larger than Remut.
But comparing their defenses to Remut"s, it was obvious that this town"s defenses were a lot softer.
Maybe it was because monsters weren"t as common.
Since it was a port town, I wanted to go see the ocean.
I walked through the town, and toward the harbour.
As expected of a port town, the smell of the ocean was thick in the air.
There were a few small fishing boats, preparing to go into the ocean.
From there I headed towards the coast.
As soon as I felt sand and gravel under my feet, I saw the gate indicating the limits of the city. It was quite fortified, with three layers of fences, and guard soldiers.
There were many figures on the beach, they looked like players.
What surprised me was that there were quite a few players hunting inside the ocean.
The water must"ve been pretty shallow.
You could see fish, jumping out of the water, and on the beach were a lot of giant bugs too, about half as many as there were people. The players were hunting those bugs.
There were quite a lot of players.
I tried to run onto the beach with Zangetsu, but since Zangetsu"s feet kept sinking into the ground, movement became really difficult.
Even if it was shallow, I didn"t feel like going into the water.
Well, I"ll just look around for today.
I"ll go hunting another time.
Just to get a general idea of the monsters here, I used【Identify】on one of them.
Sand Isopod Lv.2
Monster Enemy Target Active
An isopod, huh?
I got a really bad feeling about this one.
It was an animal you would encounter quite often if you were to go fishing, but its size in-game didn"t affect the feeling of disgust in me at all.
An isopod in real life would be no problem to run away from, but at that size… I"m getting shivers just thinking about it.
But hunting shouldn"t be an issue, as long as I don"t pay too much attention to them.
Going back through the town, I decided to check out the town on the other side of the river, Salt Rock.
The river was pretty wide, but there was a free ferry service available.
I decided to go and explore while I had the chance.
Comparing Salt Rock to Regia, I noticed the port town atmosphere was a lot thinner. It was a town quite similar to Remut.
I happened to find a building that looked like a branch office of the Adventurer"s Guild too.
And along the streets were stalls and food stands.
The outskirts of Salt Rock were almost entirely made of beaches, with capes stretching into the ocean.
I saw a tower too, it was probably a lighthouse.
And isopods on the beaches.
Let"s get out of here.
To the northwest of Salt Rock was a highway.
Perfect for anyone heading to the north of Remut.
The sign was old and breaking down, but I read that it led to a dwarf settlement called Grindel.
Such a place existed, huh.
Well, I"ll leave that for another time, for now I"m glad I have an easy way of getting back home.
I spurred on Zangetsu and hurried onwards.
Protagonist Keith
Race Human Male Racial Lv5
Job Summoner Lv3
Bonus Points Remaining 17
Skill Sets:
Staff Lv3 Punch Lv2 Kick Lv2 Joint Lock Lv3 Throw Lv2 Evade Lv2 Block Lv2 Summon Magic Lv4
Light Magic Lv2 Wind Magic Lv3 Earth Magic Lv2 Water Magic Lv3 Fire Magic Lv1 (New!) Dark Magic Lv1 (New!)
Alchemy Lv3 Pharmacy Lv2 Gla.s.smaking Lv3（↑1）
Cooperation Lv4 Appraise Lv4 Identify Lv4 Cold Resistance Lv2 Grab Lv3 Horsemanship Lv3 Precise Manipulation Lv3 Jump Lv1 Heat Resistance Lv3（↑1）
Equipment:
Kaya Wood Rod Wild Rabbit Breastplate+ Series Snow Ape Armguard Cloth Shoes Rucksack Item Box x2
Items:
Survival Knife
t.i.tles:
Old Summoner"s Temporary Pupil
Livestock Protector
Monster Summons:
Volff Wolf Lv4（Asleep）
Zangetsu Horse Lv3
Helix Hawk Lv2
Obsidian Owl Lv2（Asleep）