Volume 3: Let’s Make a Clan!

Chapter 22: The Battle for Suzu (Part 1)

「Ehh, The h.e.l.l! Did that 『Lan-terd』come back!?」

Carried by the salty breeze, the sound of Megu’s surprised voice echoed throughout the city of Crescendo.

「…… Umm, what is a 『Lan-terd』?」
「It’s that Lanky-b.a.s.t.a.r.d who looks like a sissy girl! That jerk, even though I told him to never come near us again」
「Ohh」

So that’s what it means huh.
Watching Megu vexingly grind her molars together, Edgar nodded his head in understanding.
The ingredients gathering team consisting of Megu and Andou, and also Yamabuki, were hunting Mobs by the coastline without running into many problems.
Upon returning to Crescendo to replenis.h.i.+ng their supplies, they had heard about the contest with Edgar and each were reacting to it in their own way.

「If this is how things are gonna be then we’d better put our backs into it, or else it could turn out bad. Let’s resupply with items and get right back to hunting, Yamabuki, Megu-san」
「But ‘cha know, that guy’s got a real headstrong att.i.tude, so don’cha think he’d do a bunch of things to sabotage us?」

Yamabuki brought up a point in reply to Andou’s words.
Since he possessed the same playboy characteristic, Yamabuki felt that Yos.h.i.+ from the cla.s.s next door was somewhat of a rival of his. Because of that, Yamabuki was pretty familiar with Yos.h.i.+’s behavior patterns.

「By sabotage…… Do you mean he might try to PK Megu and the others while they are Mob hunting?」
「Nah, I doubt that. That guy, he cares the most about what other people think of him, so he wouldn’t do something to lower is image. ‘Specially stuff that’ll give him a bad rep, like PK」

As Suzu asked a question, Yamabuki gave yet another reply.
That was something that Edgar also understood from the his conversation with Yos.h.i.+ earlier.
If Yos.h.i.+ was planning on obstructing them, then he wouldn’t do it by any direct means. No doubt he would use more roundabout methods.

「In that case…… Ya think he would go to the auction house and material stores, and buy out all the ingredients we can’t get from hunting Crab Scissors and Lizardmen?」
「……  I also considered that, but I think that would be difficult」

Megu offered a hypothesis, but Edgar answered in reply.

「Would be difficult? But don’t material stores have a daily limit to how much they sell? If they become sold out then won’t we hafta wait until it resets at midnight?」

Megu was mainly worried about that point.
For stores operated by NPCs, material stores are the only ones with a daily sales limit imposed on them.
In other words, material stores are the only ones that can be「Sold-Out」of an item.

「Yeah. What you said is true, Megu-san. I think the reason why Yos.h.i.+ made the time-limit before midnight was because of that reason」
「Right?」
「However, material stores aren’t the only places that sell ingredients and quest items. They’re also sold at the auction house, and you can even buy them at social shops. It’s completely impossible to buy up everything because of that」

It could be said that the admins set a limit on the goods sold by material stores in order to help out beginner players. Because there was a demand for items that were sold-out at the material stores, it allowed beginner players a way to earn a small bit of income by selling them at auctions and social shops.
A Social Shop: it is a system that allows individuals to set up their own personalized「Street Stalls」.
Unlike using an auction house where you were required to do business while in a city, you could designate your Support NPC to manage your social shop and set up business just about anywhere.
In other words, even in small villages like Myune which did not have an auction house, or in the Field, or even in the deepest parts of a Dungeon, it was possible to sell goods to other players almost anywhere. Buying out all the necessary items and ingredients from those social shops was physically impossible.

「Is it not possible even if Yos.h.i.+-kun has a bunch of his friends go around buying everything?」
「It’s still impossible, Suzu-san. Perhaps it would be possible if we’re talking about rare and hard to obtain items, but the materials and equipment we need are things that even beginner players can get their hands on. Even if Yos.h.i.+ had a bunch of people helping him, the magnitude of players selling what we need at the auction and social shops are just way too large」

Basically, it’s a matter of supply and demand; the supply greatly surpa.s.ses the demand for those items.
If Yos.h.i.+ held a lot of influence in this world, and if he managed to mobilize several hundreds of players together then it might be possible, but it would still require them to have to proper coordination and timing to purchase the goods right when they hit the market.

「…… Hmm~, I kinda get what Ed is saying here. That would mean, should we give up on hunting Mobs and just run around buying stuff instead?」
「No, I think it’s better if we stay split into 2 groups. I think it’s best if we have Edgar and Suzu-san stay as a group and look around the auction house and social shops」

“And if the two of you find any ingredients from Mob drops, then buy them up immediately.
Let’s be on double-standby and hunt as many Mobs as we can and buy as much as possible,” unexpectedly it was Andou who proposed this two-fold plan.

「…… Yeah, I agree with Andou-kun」(Edgar)
「Ooh, yur thinkin’ pretty smart today huh, Andou」(Yamabuki)
「Shaddup dummy, I’m always calm and level-headed」(Andou)

He he he, Andou scratched the tip of his noses in embarra.s.sment.
However, looking at Andou from the side, was Megu’s ice-cold gaze.

「…… Hmm~, who were the idiots who charged in head first during the Grand Mission again?」
「*Gulp*…… that was……」
「…… Haa? You say something? If you have something to say, then how ’bout you say it loud ‘n clear for all of us to listen?」

Saying that, Megu grabbed the now mournful Andou and Yamabuki by the wrist, and said to Suzu and Edgar 「If anything happens then be sure to send a message」before dragging them off.
It appears that she is still holding a deep grudge regarding that incident. A woman’s willpower is a terrifying thing.

「How should I say…… Megu, she’s like a queen-sama」(Suzu)
「Well, it does kind of suit her… I think」

As if she was a queen being escorted by her manservants, the 2 of them obediently followed Megu, and they disappeared in the direction of the plaza.
Although they were reaping what they sowed, Edgar could not help but feel sympathy for Andou and Yamabuki who had their weakness tightly grasped by Megu. But, as Edgar watched the broken men depart, he dared not speak out.

After separating from Megu and her group, Edgar and Suzu decided to head towards the material stores and the auction house.
They had already purchased the Recipes.
The ingredients needed to craft bone swords were「Crab Claws」and「Animal Hair」. Leather mails needed the ingredients「Lizard Skin」and「Leathere Straps」.
「Crab Claws」are dropped by Crab Scissors, and「Lizard Skin」is dropped by Lizardmen. In that case, our highest priority should be purchasing「Animal Hair」and「Leather Straps」.
Of course, if we come across some「Crab Claws」or「Lizard Skin」then we’ll buy what we can.

「The required goods, we need 20 bone swords and 20 leather mails, right?」(Suzu)
「That’s right. Those ingredients aren’t very expensive, so it should be easy for us to get our hands on them」

In some genres of MMOs, there is the possibility that crafting items might fail, but Dragon’s Krone had no such feature.
Instead of that, there were fluctuations in the weapon’s stats. The functionality of the weapon will either increase or decrease depending on your skill level.
Since the crafted goods will be used for a quest, the weapon’s stats don’t matter at all.
Therefore we probably won’t have to buy any extra ingredients.

「Welcome」

When Edgar opened the door he was greeted by the kind voice of the store owner.
The first place Edgar and Suzu headed for, was the materials store that was close to the plaza.
Though the store’s interior wasn’t that large, the shelves were lined with many different ingredients. These ingredients weren’t necessarily the ones for sale; they were simply a collection of Objects.

「Excuse me, I would like Animal Hair and Leather Straps, 20 of each please」

When they discussed things with Megu and the others earlier, it was decided that Suzu would handle the money until the end of this quest. Fulfilling her duty as the team’s accountant, Suzu began the exchange with the storekeeper.
Incidentally the drop items of「Crab Claws」and 「Lizard Skin」 were not sold in the materials store. The only place to buy them would be either the auction house or social shops.

「Animal Hair, and Leather Straps. Okay, please wait one moment」

The shopkeeper held up a list in his hand and scrutinized it.
That list contained all the available ingredients in alphabetical order; the shopkeeper slowly ran his finger down it as he searched.
However, after some time, his finger had arrived all the way at the bottom of the list.

「I am sorry. Both ingredients are currently sold out」
「…… As expected, huh」

Edgar’s mumbling could be heard from the side.
Just like Megu-san antic.i.p.ated, it looks like Yos.h.i.+ has bought everything.

「Incidentally, do you remember who it was who bought it?」
「The person who bought Animal Hair and Leather Straps? Let’s see… I wonder what kind of person they were……」
「Well how about, was he a lanky looking guy, someone who looks like he’s just fooling around?」

Supplementing Edgar’s initial question, Suzu promptly chimed in.
However, they were unable to get a direct response.

「Hmm~…… No, I am sorry. There are a lot of different people who come in after all. I can’t seem to remember」
「Is that so……」
「Young lady, do you really need those ingredients that badly? In that case, I believe we should receive a restock in about an hour……」

As Suzu became discouraged the storekeeper quickly tried to follow up. Edgar looked towards the clock being displayed into the lower corner of his view.
30 minutes had already pa.s.sed since we’ve accepted Yos.h.i.+’s challenge.
We don’t have the leeway to be wasting time here huh.

「No, it’s fine. Let’s go, Suzu-san」
「Okay. Thank you very much, Mr. Shopkeeper」
「Sorry about that. Come by again next time」

Suzu left the materials store with a grave look on her face.
However, Edgar remained collected and did not panic.

「It will be alright, Suzu-san. It was within our expectations that Yos.h.i.+ would buy out the store」
「…… Yes, you are right」
「If we head to the auction then we should be able to buy everything. You don’t have to worry」

Animal Hair is dropped by Mobs that appear around the Rabasta Woodlands, and we can also make Leather Straps from the Lizard Skins.
It might be difficult for us since we can’t venture too far, but「Crab Claws」 and「Lizard Skin」are important sources of income for beginner players like ourselves.
There should be a ton of them on sale, there’s no way they could possibly be sold out.

「…… Okay, but… let’s hurry Edgar-kun. For some reason I have a bad feeling about this」

Suzu wasn’t a complete novice who didn’t know anything about Dragon’s Krone.
Just like Edgar had predicted, she too know that the ingredients they needed were an essential source of income for the players who made Crescendo their home base. There should be plenty of ingredients on sale because of that.
And yet, Suzu was unable to ease this unknown feeling of dread.

「Yea, you’re right. Let’s hurry」

Edgar nodded in reply.
Together with Suzu who as restless with anxiety, Edgar picked up the pace and hustled towards the Auction House.