Translator: Cryus

10
「Hey! I"m here!」

Another girl has joined the fray.
There"s no doubt that she"s a player because of her green marker, and there"s no doubt that she"s pretty.
Her ears are long and pointy.
Is she an elf?

「Yo, Reina!」

I feel like I haven"t been able to jump into the conversation since earlier.
I give up.

「Let"s get straight to the point. Look at this.」

「Ooh! That"s an Evil Ant Sh.e.l.l!」

「Yup. I wanna change my plans and use this to make some equipment. Is that okay?」

「After what happened yesterday?! But I"m convinced after seeing this!」

「Um, wait, I can"t afford it though.」

I finally managed to say something.

「Hm? Oh, you"re Keith, right? Nice to meet you! I"m Reina, and I"m a Woodworker!」

「Uh, how did you know my name? I haven"t told you yet.」

「When you"re in the same party, you can share your virtual windows!」

I didn"t know such a function existed.
I"ve never joined a party before, so I wouldn"t have known.
Fiona stops Reina for a while and starts talking to me.

「You picked up some stings when you defeated the ants, right?」

「Yeah, I have some with me.」

「Ooh! Lemme see!」

「Calm down, Reina.」

I have 13 Evil Ant Stings in my rucksack. I take one of them out.
All 4 girls are staring.
It"s a little scary.

「Sorry, but can you hold it in your hand while we【Appraise】it?」

「Alright.」

They suddenly became silent.
It"s as if their rowdiness was just an act.
The NPCs around us are going about their own business.
No, I saw some of them glancing at us as if we were bothering them.
Sorry to bother you.

Reina takes out a few arrows and arranges them on the table.
The feathers all look the same, but the arrowheads are all different.

「Oh, sorry. I"m going to you an invitation to『Union』. Could you join it? We"ll chat using whisper.」

Fiona spoke suddenly.
An info popup appears.

《Fiona has invited you to join Union. Do you wish to accept the invitation?》

I choose Yes.

『Sorry, we tend to keep talking among ourselves.』

『No worries.』

『Reina is a Woodworker and a bow user. She"s our back row DPS.』

『And I made these arrowheads to compare the materials!』

『Do you mind if I【Appraise】them?』

『Go ahead.』

There are 4 different kinds.
I Appraise them all at once.

【Weapon: Arrow】Beginner"s Arrows　AP 1　Power 1　Durability ∞
Arrows used by novice adventurers. Possesses minimal power.
Arrows that help players get used to bows.

【Weapon: Arrow】Obsidian Arrows　Grade C-　Rarity 2
AP 1　Power 2　Weight 0+　Durability 30　Range -30%
Arrows made using obsidian as arrowheads.
Deals more damage due to its weight, but has a shorter range.

【Weapon: Arrow】Rabbit Horn Arrows　Grade C-　Rarity 2
AP 4　Power1　Weight 0+　Durability 40　Range ±0%
Arrows made using Wild Rabbit Horns as arrowheads.
Relatively easy to use with a moderate piercing ability.

【Weapon: Arrow】Bronze Arrows　Grade C　Rarity 1
AP 2　Power 1　Weight 0+　Durability 30　Range -10%
The tip of the arrow is coated with bronze.
Falls easily when not drawn properly, so caution is needed.

I can"t tell which ones are good or not.
In fact, I haven"t even considered the possibility of using a bow and arrow.

『Did you know that there"s a shortage of arrows because of the increase in bow users in the public release?!』

『Yes.』

『They still have wood and feathers in storage, but they"re short on arrowheads! That"s why I used different kinds of item drops to try it out!』

『I see.』

『You have more Evil Ant Stings, right? If you"re willing to give them to us, we"ll lower the price for your equipment. How about it?』

『Hold on, Fiona! She"s Saki"s customer!』

『Mio, that"s fine with me. Sorry about that, Keith.』

It looks like there"s a difference in opinion in the party. Is this going to be okay?

『Well, Saki? There were no screenshots or【Appraise】descriptions on the forums, but now we"re sure about it.』

『It"s looking a little more hopeful now.』

『Lemme try! I just wanna make an arrowhead! Is it okay if I inspect it here?』

Reina"s ears are jolting up and down.
Dammit, she"s cute.

『Please? It"s pretty important to her.』

『Go ahead.』

Fiona is backing her up. I should help them out.
I have no choice but to agree.
This has nothing to do with Reina"s cuteness, by the way!

Reina is taking out an arrow from her quiver. Its arrowhead is detached.
And it looks like there"s a gap where the tip is supposed to be.
She"s attaching the Evil Ant Sting, which covers the gap as if there"s some kind of glue or string keeping it in place.

『Alright Keith, you have the honor of being the first to【Appraise】it! Go on!』

I take the arrow and【Appraise】it.

【Weapon: Arrow】Evil Ant Arrows　Grade C-　Rarity 2
AP 8　Power 0+　Weight 0+　Durability 30　Range +10%　Continuous Damage (Slight)
Arrows made using Evil Ant Stings as arrowheads.
Has a higher piercing ability and causes bleeding damage.

That"s a peculiar arrow.
But I"m not that interested in using bows and arrows. I return it to Reina immediately.

『Yup! This will come in handy!』

『It doesn"t have much power, but it"s good that it has high AP, right? And it even has a range bonus.』

『Let"s go hunting now!』

『Yeah, we gotta try it out!』

『Wait up, you"re gonna leave Keith behind!』

Fiona shouts, making everyone silent.
She must be the leader of this group.
She talks the least among them though.

『So, Saki. It"s okay with you, right?』

『Roger!』

『I really don"t think I can make your equipment for free, but can you afford 400 Dyns?』

『No problem.』

『Then let"s make a deal. I wanna buy all of your Evil Ant Stings. In fact, I wanna buy everything I can use.』

Uh…
What is she talking about?

『I found out during beta, but skills will level up faster if you charge money for player requests.』

『That"s a thing?』

『Yup. The amount of EXP you get depends on your skill level, materials, and fair payment. It won"t work well if it"s too much or too little.』

『So you"re saying I should sell the stings to Fiona, then use the money for my request to Saki?』

『That"s right. It"s the same if I"m buying items from you. The price would depend on the rarity of the items though.』

『Is there a penalty otherwise?』

『There was, at least in beta.』

I see.
Well, since we both stand to gain, I have no good reason to turn them down.

『Then I"ll show you all the items I"m willing to sell.』

I"m taking out all the miscellaneous items from my rucksack and《Item Box》.
I"m being careful not to show my potions and recovery pills. I"m scared of what will happen.
I"m confirming each item using【Appraise】as I"m taking them out.
It was a little bothersome because there were a few of the same items, but I did it anyway.
Some of the items have degraded. It was worth checking after all.
These are the items I took out.

【Material】Bat Fang　Raw Material　Grade C+　Rarity 2　Weight 0+
The fang of a Hunter Bat. Cuts sharply like a flat knife. Not poisonous.

【Material】Wild Rabbit Horn　Raw Material　Grade C-　Rarity 1　Weight 0+
The meat of a Horn Rabbit. Thick, but known for its overwhelming pastoral taste.

【Material】Striped Wild Rabbit Meat　Raw Material　Grade C-　Rarity 3　Weight 1
The meat of a Horned Rabbit. The power of the wilderness dwells within it. Too hard to chew on.

【Material】Striped Wild Rabbit Horn　Raw Material　Grade B-　Rarity 4　Weight 0+
The horn of a Horned Rabbit. The tip is sharp. The horn itself is bent backwards.

【Material】Evil Ant Sting　Raw Material　Grade C　Rarity 1　Weight 0+
The sting of an Evil Ant. Not poisonous. Surprisingly light with a sharp tip.

【Material】Steppe Hawk Wings　Raw Material　Grade C-　Rarity 1　Weight 1
The wing of a Steppe Hawk. Normally used to make arrows.

【Material】Pheasant Wings　Raw Material　Grade D+　Rarity 1　Weight 1
The wings of a Wild Pheasant (Female). A material most commonly processed into arrow feathers.

【Material】Snow Ape Bones　Raw Material　Grade C　Rarity 3　Weight 0+
The bones of a Snow Ape. Light and tough.

【Treasure】Magic Stone　Magic Item　Grade E+　Rarity 2　Weight 0+
Magical energy that dwells within monsters and turns into a core when gathered.

『Wait, this…!』

『Everyone, wait! Just stop talking for a second!』

Everyone stops in response.

『Just by looking at the Rarity, these items are worth 2,000 Dyns.』

『Ooh! That"s a lot of money!』

『That"s just the minimum, you know? It depends on the item, but it"s not unusual for someone who really wants these items to pay double price.』

『I want materials for arrows! I want the Bat Fangs, Evil Ant Stings, Wild Rabbit Horns, and all the wings!』

『The only thing that wasn"t on the forums was the Snow Ape Bones. Oh, and the Snow Ape Skin.』

『Personally, I want the Meat!』

『Sorry, give me a moment to think in peace.』

Fiona is deep in thought once again.

『Hey Keith, you didn"t play the beta version, right?』

『Right, I joined during public release.』

『And now you"re playing solo, right?』

『Well, no one would let me join their party, so I didn"t have much of a choice.』

『You"ve never played an online game like this, have you?』

『Well, I think it"s my first time.』

『Do us a favor. Make sure to communicate information to someone, anyone at all. Otherwise, it"s going to be dangerous.』

Dangerous?

『Let"s say you know the conditions for clearing an area, but you don"t make that information public. What do you think will happen?』

???
Oh! I see!

『Other players may think I"m monopolizing information and acting on self interest?』

『Correct. Something similar happened in beta, and in other online games too.』

Hmm.
Using forums and giving information seem bothersome.

『Your Rarity 3 items have a relatively high value. Players with Production Jobs could use these materials to make Rarity 4 items.』

『High level Production NPCs could even make Rarity 5 items out of those, you know?』

『Honestly, I envy the combat jobs.』

『Out of all these items, the worst has to be the Snow Ape Bones. There was no mention about it on the forums at all.』

『It wasn"t in beta either, right?』

『It wasn"t. And you wouldn"t know unless you actually tried making weapons out of them. Now I"m sure that even the top blacksmiths in our guild are competing against each other.』

『Hey, could you leak some of the information on the forums, Keith? We won"t force you, of course.』

『It"s meaningless if we"re the ones doing it.』

All 4 girls are staring at me, making me clam up.
That"s right. Even the game world is a mini society. I"ve come to realize that I can"t do everything alone.
That leaves me only one option: to fulfil my obligations, no matter how trivial.

『I understand. I"ll do it.』

『Thanks. That"s going to help us a lot.』

『Fiona, I"ll send a friend request to Keith.』

『Saki?』

『I want to make sure that I"ve accepted the request, so I"m taking a screenshot. And it"ll add on to my collection of requests.』

『What does that have to do with sending him a friend request?』

『Mio, that"s for taking responsibility until I"ve finished the job. This will serve as proof for other customers too, no?』

Saki and Mio really do seem like real sisters. Fiona too.
It"s because Mio is watching out for her older sister Saki.

『I"ll send a request too. Is that okay?』

Fiona wants to add me as a friend too.
Well, it never hurts to befriend players with Production Jobs.
On top of everything, playing solo feels sad, and it"s not like I can do everything by myself like Master had advised.

I nod, and the requests come right away.
There are 2 virtual windows that popped up.
They belong to Fiona and Saki.
I accept both requests, and another one appears.
It"s Reina"s.

『Huh?』

『Well, I mean, I wanna make sure I have a steady source of materials to make good bows!』

『Reina, you"re too straightforward.』

『You were thinking it yourself, right Saki?』

Suddenly, I can"t hear what they"re saying even though they"re still arguing.
I wonder what they"re talking about.

『Stop using whisper to argue! You"re embarra.s.sing us!』

『Just ignore them and add me too! I want food materials!』

『You just don"t wanna be the odd one out, right Mio?』

Now I can"t hear Fiona and Mio either as they"re arguing with each other.
Or should I say they"re all getting along?
I ended up accepting friend requests from all 4 of them, including Mio.

「Alright! Private chat is over! Back to business!」

We talked about what to sell and how much to sell them for.
I ended up selling everything besides my Magic Stone.
I sold my Striped Wild Rabbit Meat to Mio.
I earned about 1,100 Dyns overall.

「You should hold onto the Magic Stone until you need to repair your equipment.」

I"m following Fiona"s advice, keeping the Magic Stone with me.
I"m sure I"ll use it eventually.

「I"ll send a screenshot once I"ve finished making your equipment. Send me a message before you come and collect it.」

「Okay.」

After that, I asked them how to take screenshots since I didn"t know how to do it.
They laughed at me really hard.
I hope it"s because we"re friends now.
I took a few test screenshots of various different items.
That was when I realized that all 4 girls really love taking photos.
In Mio"s case, she"s only happy with photos taken from above and tilted towards the right.
I don"t know why, but it seems really important to her.

I also asked them if they knew anyone who makes clothes.
They told me that there"s a Fabric Worker in their Players" Guild.
But they also said that the Fabric Worker is going to log in late today, so they couldn"t introduce me right away.
In any case, I know where the clothing shop is now.

I didn"t want to waste their time with small talk.
I left when an NPC went up to Fiona"s stall and bought some fish.

I"m walking around town restlessly.
I enter the clothing shop that Fiona and the others told me about.
I buy 2 cotton clothes and put them in the《Item Box》.
I thought about getting an NPC to mend my Simple Clothes, but the cost for repairs seemed just about equal to my purchase.

Next, I enter the leather shop that Saki is working in as an apprentice, and look around at their shoes.
The ones that I want are really expensive.
My Cloth Shoes are still unscratched, so I"ll come back later.

Now I"m taking a look at the workshop that Reina is working in.
The workshop is big enough that there"s a shop set up in here.
There are magic staves for sale on the rack, and there are bows in stock as well, but I don"t see any rods.
There are no arrows on the racks. Instead, they"re being sold directly at the counter.
They"re probably keeping a close eye on their available stock because more people need them now.
I"ve finally found the rods, but they"re all Beginner"s Rods, which were most likely traded in by players.
I should have asked Fiona to make me a rod…

There are pots about the size of a Dutch oven in the miscellaneous store. I"m buying 3 of them.
They stack on top of each other pretty easily, so it"s convenient to carry around.
I"m also buying 2 wooden ladles, 5 funnels, 2 kinds of measuring cups, and a portable cooking stove as well as some charcoal.
The large items are going into the《Item Box》.
I spent 700 Dyns just like that.

Alright.
I think that"s all I need to do in this town.
I still have some Portable Food.
I should go back to the Adventurer"s Guild and wait for Master to finish his business.

Master"s Battle Horse is still secured next to the building of the Adventurer"s Guild.
I wonder if they"re still in the middle of their conversation?
I"m spending my time watching Zangetsu and the Battle Horse as if they"re playing with each other.
Helix is silently perched on top of my rod.

The Battle Horse is acting up all of a sudden.
I see Master coming out of the building, dragging his bagged《Item Box》along.
I hurry next to him and take the bag from him.

「Sorry it took so long. We should start gathering herbs now. Let us hurry.」

「Okay.」

I put the bag on the Battle Horse. Master takes it by the reins and begins walking toward the gate.
I take Zangetsu"s reins and follow along.

「We are in a hurry, so we should avoid monsters as much as possible.」

「Okay.」

Once we step out of the town, Master quickly gets on his horse and rides at full speed.
It"s hard for me to keep up because he"s riding faster now.
My【Horsemanship】skill is only at Lv.1. I wish he would cut me some slack.
I use Physical Enchant: Aqua to raise my DEX, which is helping.

We aren"t heading west, which is where Master"s house is.
We"re heading south instead.
I didn"t really know why at first, but it seems that it didn"t matter where we went. He just wanted to go somewhere, where no one would see us.
When we reached an isolated location, he got off his Battle Horse and removed his riding gear.

「You should recall your horse as well. We"ll be riding the Roc Bird from here on.」

「Okay.」

It does seem impossible to ride our horses on the Roc Bird.
I take off the riding gear from Zangetsu and put it in the《Item Box》.
Master is quickly casting a spell.

「Invisibility!」

Huh?
It wasn"t a Summon Magic.

「It would be bothersome if other people saw us. This is just in case.」

「I didn"t know there was such a spell.」

「Mm. It is a Light Magic, and has an illusory effect.」

I get it. It"s an optical camouflage.
It seems that besides Summon Magic, Master knows some Light, Water, and Earth Magic as well.
I wouldn"t be surprised if he knows other types of magic.
I wonder what he"ll show me next time.

「Oh, right. You should summon your Wolf. He will not grow any stronger by taking it easy.」

「Okay.」

I already know about his spartan style of teaching.
I"m summoning Volff right now.
As for Master, he"s summoning his Roc Bird.
Once again, I"m shocked at the difference in the size of our Monster Summons.

「Let us hurry on then.」

We climb up the Roc Bird, which quickly starts flying up.
This marks the beginning of my long journey to become resistant to the cold.

This time, I can tell where we"re going.
It"s northeast of the town of Lemut.
It"s colder than yesterday though.
It seems that we"re flying higher and faster than yesterday.
Master probably saw that I"m doing a lot better than yesterday.
My【Cold Resistance】skill is still at Lv.1 though.

That"s what I thought, when I saw it level up through the info popup.
I wonder why I"m not too happy about it.
I"m glad it"s a little more bearable though.
Volff and Helix seem to be doing fine.
I"m the only one who isn"t fluffy or feathery.

《Your friend has sent you a message.》

The info popup appears while I"m shivering in the cold.
It"s Saki the Leather Worker who sent me the message.

『I"m starting work now. Look forward to the results.』

She attached a selfie with the materials arranged on her work table.
She even has a signature pose.
It"s a beautiful photo, and it helps that she"s good-looking.
But I wish she would prioritize her work.

There"s a message from Fiona too.

『I"m sending you some important info for your forum post before you write it. Read it when you can.』

Yup.
This is helpful.
I use the『Bookmark』function on top of the message to save it.
I"ll write up the information about Snow Apes after I take a look at it later.

Now I"m getting messages from Reina and Mio.
Why am I getting flooded with messages when I"m all the way out here?
I"ll start with Reina"s message.

『I made some arrows using the Bat Fang! I"ll send you the info from【Appraise】! I"ll let you know if I make some more arrows using different feathers!』

There"s a screenshot of her holding an arrow.

There"s another attachment. This one is a hard copy of the【Appraise】results.

【Weapon: Arrow】Bat Fang Arrows　Grade C+　Rarity 2
AP 6　Power 1　Weight 0+　Durability 60　Range +10%
Arrows made using Bat Fangs as arrowheads.
Boasts increased Attack Power and Range due to the shape of the arrowheads.

Oh?
The AP and range of the arrows have increased just by using different materials for the arrowhead.
It does look so streamlined that it can rip through the air.

Next up is Mio"s message.

『I made some meat skewers using the Striped Wild Rabbit Meat. It was a challenge, but I don"t regret it. You should try some next time!』

It"s a selfie with the meat skewer in her hand. The photo was taken using her signature angle. I don"t have any comments for the food she made though.
What do you want me to say, anyway.
I wonder if she"ll treat me to a meat skewer.
I think she"ll try to sell it to me in a shrewd way.

The Roc Bird lands at a different location.
But the surroundings look similar.
The plants look the same too.

「We"re in a different place.」

「We have simply gone further inside, just past a mountain. It is not good to gather too many herbs from the same location, so I have changed locations.」

「I see.」

He summons 2 Automatons right away.
The Roc Bird is flying away.
Master is taking out his jute bags, so I get ready to take them…

「Hold on. I have a task for you first.」

「Huh?」

「Do not worry. You will be fighting the same monster with just about the same strength as you did yesterday.」

Should I not be gathering herbs?
Does he want me to fight it first?
Against the same Snow Ape, no less?
Which part should I not worry about?

There are so many questions that I can"t voice as his apprentice.
Whatever. I"ll accept the challenge.

「The conditions are the same as yesterday.」

「Understood.」

Alright.
I have some bonus points I can spare now.
Summoning Volff has taken up some of my MP, but it"s mostly recovered over time.
But it"s still far from full.
I can"t afford to keep using Force Bullet continuously.
I should obtain some skills that give me an advantage in close combat.

I have no time to hesitate. I have to make split second decisions.
I spend 2 bonus points on the Weapon Skill【Joint Lock】.
I spend 1 bonus point on each of the Defense Skills【Evade】and【Block】.
I activate them immediately.

An ape similar to the one yesterday appears in front of me.
Oh right, I should take a screenshot of it.

Snow Ape　Lv.4
Monster　Enemy Target　Active・Guided

It"s the same level too.
But I should be stronger than I was yesterday.
Maybe not much stronger.
I display my spells list in a small virtual window, then get ready to fight.
It"s a small tip that I learned, but I"m sure it"ll come in handy.

The Snow Ape is going to be way faster than me anyway.
I"ve selected my first spell.
I grab my Beginner"s Rod from the base and poise myself to counterattack.
Come on!

The red marker above the Snow Ape"s head begins flashing.
There"s a smaller marker on top of it, indicating its Guided status.
I wonder how it"ll start its attack.
But the ape is making a strange sound as if trying to threaten me, and it"s starting to observe my surroundings.
It"s also jumping a little.
It"s probably underestimating me.
I cast my first spell quietly.

「Physical Enchant: Earth!」

I immediately select my next spell and cast it.
The ape begins charging towards me just as I finished casting.

「Physical Enchant: Aqua!」

It closed the distance in one shot. I still managed to finish casting the spell.
The ape is jumping onto my head.
I aim my rod at the ape"s throat.
But with a slight swing, it pushes my rod out of the way.
I didn"t think it would stop my attack so easily!

The ape is still aiming for my head.
I roll forward to avoid it and attack it at the same time.
At least, that"s what should have happened.
I should be in a better position to attack, but the ape is swinging its arm from an impossible angle.
I"m slanting my rod to block the attack.
That went well.
I feel like I"m having a better handle on it due to the increase in DEX from Physical Enchant: Aqua.
That"s what I thought, when the ape suddenly propels itself closer by 1m.
The ape is cheating, Master!

「Physical Enchant: Wind!」
Raising my AGI probably won"t be enough to let me keep up with its movements, but I use it anyway.
Even while I was casting the spell, the ape is still attacking from an impossible angle.
It feels like the attack pattern of this ape is different from yesterday"s.

The ape"s movements are changing again.
It looks like it"s trying to s.n.a.t.c.h my rod away from me.
In that case…
I begin casting a spell.
I thrust my rod towards its belly.

The tip of the rod reaches my target, and at the same time, the ape grabs onto the rod with both of its hands.
It bares its teeth all the way to its gums, laughing at me.
I place my right palm on the ape"s chin and use Force Bullet.
I let go of my rod.

The ape stops moving for a moment.
I gran its right wrist and twist its entire arm.
The ape is trying to resist.
I"m using its movement to my advantage.
I twist its right wrist the other way and kick its leg.
I send it flying using its momentum.

The ape begins howling in anger and tries to threaten me.
It springs up right away in an attempt to bite me. It"s just too fast.

I tried to avoid its attack, but ended up getting grazed. Pain is coursing through my left hand. Is the【Evade】skill really working?
I ignore the damage done, and aim for the instant the ape reaches the ground.
I"m using a low tackle.
The ape used it against me yesterday. It"s payback time.
But the ape is physically stronger than me despite its smaller size.
It"s trying to bite my face.

I roll on the ground towards its feet, and grab its ankles with my right arm.
Using the momentum, I stand up, bringing the ape"s legs up into the air.
I"ve succeeded in tripping the ape and making it fall on its back.
Before it manages to get up, I tug its right ankle into my left arm, then lock it in place.
I"m twisting its heel upwards using my arm.
It"s a heel hold.

The Snow Ape has a similar bone structure compared to humans.
The main difference being its short tail and its long arms.
That"s why it"s easy to perform a joint lock.

I step on its left knee using my right leg, making the lock even easier.
All that remains is restraining it completely.

I"ve practiced joint locks and more or less gotten the hang of it, but I"ve never actually broken any bones until now.
This would be my first time.
I break its hip joints and knee joints, as well as its ankles.
An unpleasant sound, followed by a strange sensation, is running through my body.
I"m tearing apart its flesh and bones.
I"m doing this to a monster that"s clearly physically stronger.
This feeling is like an electric current running up my spine.
For a moment, I give in to this violent impulse.

I can hear its desperate cries of pain.
Its mouth is wide open. I kick it by the throat.
It desperately swings its arms, scratching my legs in the process.
Even though they"re light blows, I can feel them in my bones.
My HP decreases by 30% in an instant.

I strike at the moment its arms move away from my legs.
I slip away from its right arm and create a feint by reaching for its back.
It"s going according to plan.
Is it going to swing its left arm, aiming for the back of my head from the side while rolling sideways?
Or is it going to turn around and bite me?
It doesn"t matter either way.
Its right leg is broken, so it should affect its movements.

The ape is swinging its left hand.
I dodge it by a hair"s breadth.
My target this time is its left leg.

I wrap the back of my left knee around its left ankle.
Using my right leg, I kick the back of its left knee with all my strength.
The ape falls in front of me.

I bend its left leg backwards, placing my entire body weight on my legs and stomach on top of it as I grab its back.
I perform a headb.u.t.t on the bottom of its neck, but stop after one try. It hurts too much.
The ape is thrashing about wildly beneath me, but its right leg is completely broken, and my entire body weight is keeping its leg pinned down.
And since I"m clinging onto its back, the ape has no way of attacking me.
It"s trapped.
Now I just have to finish it off.

I"m pounding on the back of its head, near its shoulders.
It may seem weird, but when you make a fist, it isn"t all soft on the side of your little finger.
And when you swing your hand, that"s where it causes the greatest impact.
That"s why even children are able to loosen stiff necks.

That"s what I"m using to pound its head, all the way to the base of my palms.
Getting caught between my fists and the ground is causing it damage continuously.
On top of that, I"m using Force Bullet at point blank rage, right onto its head.
I keep firing the same spell as long as my MP allows it.

But that isn"t enough to defeat it. Just how much HP does it have?
I can tell its resistance is weakening though.

It took about half an hour to defeat it.
Saki taught me how to keep track by using the Timestamp function.
But to think I took half an hour.

《Punch Level Up!》
《Earth Magic Level Up!》
《Water Magic Level Up!》
《Cooperation Level Up!》
《Identify Level Up!》
《Grab Level Up!》
《You may obtain the following Weapon Skill(s):【Throw】》

That"s a lot of level ups.
Fighting like this may be good for my EXP, but someday I"ll probably die if I"m doing this every time.
I can"t consider this an overwhelming victory.
It seems that while I was keeping its joints locked down, its violent thrashing had caused some damage.
After the fight, I only had a little over 30% of my HP.
And I only had about 10% MP left.

「You have a strange way of fighting.」

Master says with a broad smile.
I wouldn"t have won if I fought it head on!

He"s healing me with Earth: Heal, just like he did yesterday.
My HP immediately reverts to full.
My Simple Clothes were torn and tattered after yesterday"s fight, but it"s even worse now.

Oops, I almost forgot.
I stick my Survival Knife into the ape that I just defeated.

【Material】Snow Ape Skin　Raw Material　Grade C　Rarity 3　Weight 2
The skin of a Snow Ape. The hairs are thick and long.

【Material】Snow Ape Bones　Raw Material　Grade C　Rarity 3　Weight 0+
The bones of a Snow Ape. Light and tough.

They"re the same items that dropped yesterday.
But there are 2 bones this time.
It"s probably the thigh bones, so I"m not really surprised that there are 2 of them.
I"m making a hard copy of the screenshot of the【Appraise】results. I copy it onto a new virtual window, and scan my past logs.
This is another trick they taught me.
It"s unmistakably the same item drops from yesterday.
In any case, this was a close victory.

「Good. Now, you will help gather the Healgra.s.s. You shall fill one jute bag at the very minimum.」

Master.
You really show no mercy.

Volff and Helix are sitting quietly next to Master on both sides.
I wish they"d help me hold the scoops.

It seems as if they"re both saying「Stop complaining, you can do it.」

Protagonist　Keith
Race　Human　Male　Racial Lv3
Job　Summoner Lv2
Bonus Points Remaining 5

Skill Sets
Staff Lv2　Punch Lv2（↑1）Kick Lv2　Joint Lock Lv1（New！）
Evade Lv1（New!）Block Lv1（New!）Summon Magic Lv3
Light Magic Lv1　Wind Magic Lv2　Earth Magic Lv2（↑1）Water Magic Lv2（↑1）
Alchemy Lv1　Pharmacy Lv1
Cooperation Lv3（↑1）Appraise Lv3　Identify Lv3（↑1）Cold Resistance Lv2（↑1）Grab Lv2（↑1）
Horsemanship Lv1

Equipment　Beginner"s Rod　Cotton Shirt　Cloth Shoes　Rucksack　Item Box

Items　Survival Knife

Monster Summons
Volff　Wolf Lv3　Summoned

Zangetsu　Horse Lv1　Recalled

Helix　Hawk Lv1