Translator: Cryus　Editor: Weasalopes

TL Note: The author released this long chapter as a commemorative one (i.e. ch100), but we"ll be splitting it in two due to the sheer length. We will also be splitting long chapters like this one from now on to be fair to all translators. Enjoy!

It"s almost time for dinner, so I"m switching out Zangetsu for Bunraku.
I"ll have him make food for me.
I wanted to recall Volff too, but Adele is still busy petting him.
Irina left her alone, and is now helping Mio with the cooking.
Hey, do something about Adele!

It"s getting dark, so I"ll recall Helix if anything.
I"m summoning Jean in his place.
I"ll go with my usual night hunting team.
I"m expecting Float Eyes, Skeleton Raptors, Haunted Mists, and Holy Wraiths to appear here.
There may be Brown Bears too.
I still have about 70% of my MP left. It should be enough.

「Oh, h.e.l.lo Keith.」

Fiona has come back from hunting monsters. She looks more cheerful than ever.
Maybe she didn"t fight much?
Yosaku the Lumberjack is right behind her.
We nod to each other in greeting.
Including Yosaku, there seems to be a lot of players accompanying her who look like veterans.

「Saki, did you get to tell him?」

「He just got here not long ago. I"ve only told him briefly.」

「I know roughly what"s going on.」

They"re taking a seat opposite of me. Her guild members are starting to follow suit, sitting wherever they like.
Reina is sitting right next to me.

「Yo! Long time no see!」

「Hey.」

「There"s a lot we need to talk about, but I think Keith should go first, Reina.」

「Yeah, of course.」

I wonder…
I"m sure there"s going to be a request for me, if anything.
I doubt the Grow Plant spell is the only thing they have in mind for me.

「Then let"s trade, shall we?」

「Sure.」

I"m taking out all the items I want to sell.
There"s a lot of Snow Ape Bones and Skin, as well as Black Bear Fur and Paws.
I have just a bit of Snow Leopard Skins.

「That"s a lot.」

Saki is counting the skins quietly.
She"s a Leather Worker, so it must be a normal task for her.

「Now, there"s something I"d like to discuss.」

I"m putting the fruits I got from the Kobolds on the edge of the table, away from the other items.
I have plums, astringent persimmons, peach, chestnuts, apricots, cotton seeds, camellia, and horse chestnuts.

「I"ve seen plums on the forums before, but not the other ones.」

「Fiona, are you thinking what I"m thinking?」

「Yes, most likely we"ll have to plant and grow them.」

I figured.
That was the most likely case.
But I wonder if a simple spell can subst.i.tute a few years" worth of work.
There"s a limit to everything, after all.

「Have you ever used Grow Plant, Keith?」

「No, not at all.」

Saki is sighing heavily.
It"s true that I was one of the first to learn Tree Magic.
But I"m more confident in my other spells, since I use them more often.

「You know that Grow Plant is a spell that forces plants to grow, right?」

According to Saki, the spell is limited in its ability.
It speeds up the process by a week per level.
For example, my Tree Magic is at level 4.
I can cast the spell on the same target once a day, and speed up the growing process by 4 weeks each time.
I can only use it once a day per plant.

But the results stack up when different people cast it.
Right now, Saki"s Tree Magic is at level 3.
If she casts Grow Plant on the same plant that I did, she can speed up the process by an additional 3 weeks in the same day.
In other words, the more players there are who have the spell, the faster the plants will grow.
That"s cool.
I mean, that"s cruel.
Is it really okay to speed a plant"s growth like that?

「Hey Fiona, since we haven"t tried it yet, why don"t we plant a seed and see how it goes?」

「Only if it"s okay with Keith.」

「That"s fine with me.」

「Really? That"s great! Now we have 4 players who can use the spell.」

「Saki, we have 2 more people joining us tomorrow. And we shouldn"t force him.」

「I know. I was going to ask him.」

No you weren"t.
I"ll still help though.

「I"ll lend a hand.」

「Relax. We"re not going to force our volunteers to do anything. We"ll even provide items and materials for experimental purposes, you know?」

Oh?
I have no complaints then.

「I see. Then I"d like some wood, even if it"s sc.r.a.ps. And if you have a bow to spare…」

「I made all of these bows! Take your pick!」

「Well, I"d rather you teach me how to make one. I"ve brought my toolkit here.」

「Really? In that case, could you take Keith to the lumber storage, Reina?」

「Roger.」

I got lucky.
I"m sure this counts as exchanging favors.
There"s no guarantee I can make a bow even though I have a toolkit, since I don"t have any experience.
It"s best if I can learn from someone.

Dinner is ready.
Bunraku has made some meatb.a.l.l.s made from Mountain Goat Thigh Meat.
It"s delicious.
But it"s a lot.

We shared our food with each other and cleaned up.
We"re having peaches for dessert.
We"ll most likely be planting the seeds.
Yum.
That was satisfying.

And just how long is Adele going to cling to Volff?
She"s even feeding him while eating her own food.
She should learn to take things in moderation.

After finishing dinner, the players are going their own ways.
Some of them are setting up tents in random spots in town.
They"re probably logging out from there.
Others are coming out from their tents.

As for me, I"m talking about my progress so far.
I guess it"s better to leave out the part about Lambda.

I"ll just talk about stuff related to the event.
Some of the monsters can now be found in areas that aren"t their original habitats.
For example, the monsters in N1W1 have spread out to N1W2.
This seems to apply to other areas as well.

But it seems that the news hasn"t reached the Adventurer"s Guild in Remut.
Information spreads among players really quickly, so it may be due to a time lag.
It may not be long before the Adventurer"s Guild gets moving.

「Alright, I"ll take you there!」

Reina stands up and signals to me.
Fiona is calling out to me just as I"m leaving.

「Oh yeah, I just remembered. There"s something I"d like to ask you, Keith.」

「What is it?」

「Could you write a post about any new Summon and s.p.a.cetime spells on the forums?」

「Well, I guess I could…」

Yup.
I actually haven"t gotten used to the environment on the forums.
I wonder why she"s asking me.

「There are players who come to me every day to ask me about new spells because they want to consolidate a list. I"m at a loss.」

What the h.e.l.l?
Why won"t they ask me directly then?
Well, I guess it"s probably because they don"t know where I"m located, and Fiona is one of the closest leads to me.
I shouldn"t keep causing trouble for her.

「I"m sorry for the trouble.」

「Don"t worry about it.」

She"s waving her hand in rea.s.surance.
She doesn"t seem too bothered by the situation.
I guess there were times when I"ve had so much to do that nuisances aren"t really a bother to me.
She immediately turns to Saki and begins talking about something else.

Adele is still holding on to Volff.
He"s squinting as if in happiness whenever she strokes his body.
He"s completely surrendered to her.
I"ve had enough. I"ll leave them alone.

「Here"s the lumber storage! There"s some sc.r.a.p wood here too, but you can use anything you like!」

「That"s some high quality wood you have here.」

「The Lumberjack said that he got the sc.r.a.ps from tree branches, and the logs from trees that he tried chopping down!」

Is she referring to Yosaku?
And the logs are kind of thick, even for trees that he “tried” chopping down.

I guess I"ll let it slide.
I searched the wood sc.r.a.ps and found one that"s about 2m long.
It"s Kaya Wood.
I could make a lance with this.
I"ll take some smaller pieces of sc.r.a.p Kaya Wood too.
These are for making push daggers.

「Are you okay with using elm wood?」

「Yes, it"s fine.」

「Do you have your tools?」

「Of course.」

「Okay. Let"s do it together!」

「Is it easy?」

「I think it"s difficult to make a bamboo bow, but making a wooden bow is easy! It just takes time!」

So I can"t use it right away.
d.a.m.n.
No, I shouldn"t be hasty.
I just have to let either Bunraku or Goki use a bow for now.
Right now, I should focus on learning how to make a bow.

「It"s done!」

【Weapon: Bow】Elm Bow　Grade C+　Rarity 3
AP±0　Power±0　Weight 1　Durability 110　Range 45
A bow made of elm wood.
Standard in size and relatively easy to use.
[Custom] Reinforced with tree bark and resin, resulting in increased durability.
※Coating in progress

The bow that Reina made is surprisingly high quality.
By the way, the workshop we"re in is relatively open. I can hear Fiona and the others talking at the table next to us.
Reina really knows how to focus on the task at hand.
I"m impressed.

Here"s the bow I made.

【Weapon: Bow】Elm Bow　Grade C　Rarity 3
AP±0　Power±0　Weight 1　Durability 100　Range 40
A bow made of elm wood.
Standard in size and relatively easy to use.
[Custom] Reinforced with tree bark and resin, resulting in increased durability.
※Coating in progress

I lost.
I guess it"s only natural, since it"s her forte.
I was relying on subskills the entire time.

「Oh! That"s good for a first!」

「Really?」

「But maybe you"d prefer to use this one instead?」

She"s handing me a bow that was on the desk.

【Weapon: Bow】Yew Bow　Grade B-　Rarity 3
AP±0　Power±0　Weight 1　Durability 130　Range 55
A bow made of yew.
Standard in size and relatively easy to use.
[Custom] Reinforced with tree bark and resin, resulting in increased durability.

That"s really amazing.
I think I"ll have to use the Woodworking skill a lot more, especially if I"m going to make some chairs.

I"m getting sidetracked again.
I"ll make one more.
I used a long piece of Kaya wood and shaped it into a cylindrical bar.
I made adjustments to the front end and fixed a Blitz Horn onto it.
I fixed an Obsidian stone onto the rear end.
I used some glue and cast Shape on the Obsidian stone, changing its shape to make it more like a fixture.
Let"s see the results.

【Weapon: Spear】Blitz Spear　Grade C+　Rarity 4
AP+10　M・AP+3　Power 3　Weight 3+　Durability 120
Paralysis [Slight]　Lightning Elemental
A spear made with a Blitz Horn. Used for thrusting.
Slicing is impossible since it lacks a blade. Provides a slight boost to spells.
Relatively light and easy to use due to its short size.
Imbued with Lightning, resulting in a slight chance to paralyze one"s opponent.

Oh?
It looks good.

「How"s this?」

「Wow, incredible!」

Reina raised her voice in surprise.

「I don"t use spears, so I"ll just give it to someone.」

「You can"t do it for free! Everyone must be paid for their work!」

Oops.
I"m getting lectured.
Also, this isn"t even my job.
I"m a Summoner.

「Aw, I really want it!」

Mio"s response is quick. She"s staring at it now.
Hey, finish the grilled skewer in your hand first!

「Do you want it, Mio?」

「Yeah!」

「Okay. Is it okay if I pay for it, Keith?」

Fiona has put her conversation with Saki on hold, and is now giving me payment.
It looks like a huge amount of money…
And that was quick.

Oh no.
I"ve spent too much time on Woodworking.
I wanted to make some push daggers, but I"ll have to do it another time.
I brought some Ancient Stones with me too.
There"s just so much I want to do. It"s hard to prioritize.

「Adele, could you let go of Volff already?」

「No!」

「Adele, that"s enough.」

Irina is trying to stop her, but she"s not listening.

「If that"s how it is, then I"ll go with him!」

「Huh?」

Adele needs to stop putting Irina in a spot.
But wait.
If Adele and Irina are tagging along, then it may be easier to fight multiple Haunted Mists at once.
I"m pretty sure it will be.

「That"s fine with me, but are you sure you have the time to spare?」

「Yes!」

「Adele, don"t we only have 2 hours left?」

「I still want to go!」

She"s really stubborn.
Irina has given up.

It"s the second time I"m hunting at the W2 area at night.
The last time I was here, I suffered pretty badly.
But now that I know how to deal with it, it"ll be easier this time.
Plus, I have a stronger team now.

My party of Monster Summons is equipped to deal with multiple Haunted Mists.
Volff, Obsidian, Jean, and Senki.

It"s easy to figure out what Adele is going to use.
Two Wolves and an Owl.
Irina has a Tiger, a Wolf, and a Bat summoned.
It"s a well-balanced team, with mobility and firepower.

But we need to be careful.
We have a limited duration when it comes to hunting monsters.
We should start near the village.

Adele and Irina are both at Racial Lv7, and they have Level 7 Summon Magic too.
Neither of them picked up a lot of new Magic Skills.
Adele learned Dark Magic.
She already has Light and Fire Magic. Her Fire Magic has reached Level 6.
Irina recently added Light Magic.
She also has Dark and Earth Magic.
Her Earth Magic is now at Level 6.

It"s obvious what they"re trying to do.
They want to learn s.p.a.cetime Magic.
I"d recommend it anyway. It makes things more convenient.

Our first fight was against two Float Eyes.
I didn"t get to do anything.
Our two Owls and two Bats brought them to the ground, where five of our carnivorous Monster Summons and one Demon charged in for an a.s.sault.
The Float Eyes didn"t have a chance to retaliate.
They died without using their special attacks.
We got two Crystal b.a.l.l.s from them.

「I"m gonna use Call Monster.」

「Isn"t that a bit dangerous?」

「Don"t worry. I"m just using it to survey the area.」

The list of monsters in this area is staggering.
Yesterday was nothing compared to this.
It feels like their numbers have doubled.
There are a few Brown Bears here, but it looks like they aren"t in groups.
That"s good news.

Wait.
I should think differently.
The more monsters there are, the more EXP we"ll get.
Alright.
We"ll start with Skeleton Raptors.

「I"m gonna call some Skeleton Raptors. They"re undead. You can defeat them by fighting normally, but watch yourselves.」

「Okay!」

「I"m ready.」

Good.
It"s been a while since I felt like this.
It was a really different feeling with Lambda.

There was only one Skeleton Raptor.
That"s too bad.
I only managed to land a single hit with my rod.
Our numbers are too great.
There"s no way we can lose when it"s 13v1.
If I was a monster, I"d definitely run away.
The Skeleton Raptor didn"t drop anything.
Alright, next.

It"s going to be the real deal this time.
I"m calling over a group of Haunted Mists.
More accurately, I"m calling one of them over here, but it"s bringing an entire group along.
It belonged to a relatively small group, but that number more than doubled when it got here.
The groups nearby are starting to gather as well.
This is going to be more than a ha.s.sle.

But the Haunted Mists are slow.
That helps at the very least.
I"ve finished casting Enchanted Weapon on everyone.
We"re all ready to attack them.
I"m giving commands with vigor.

「Trample on them!」

I just wanted to sound cool.

My vision is filled with red markers, which are decreasing steadily.
As for me…
I"m right in the middle of the scramble.
I"m kicking the monsters as much as I can while using my Kaya Wood Rod to attack.
It"s dangerous to stop attacking when facing these monsters.
The best defense is a good offense, in this case.

What about Adele and Irina?
They"re using their Elm Staves as their sub-weapons.
Arrows are just too ineffective against Haunted Mists.

They"re probably not used to fighting up close, but I don"t think I have to worry about them.
Their Monster Summons are constantly protecting them.
This group is definitely much larger than the one I fought before.
But I feel confident this time.
We"re trampling on them.
Quite literally, in my case.
The howling of the Tigers and Wolves on our team fills my ears, making me a little more feral.

I think the fight lasted less than 10 minutes.
It was almost a perfect victory.
The monsters absorbed some of my MP, but it wasn"t that bad.
They dropped 7 Magic Stones.
I think that"s pretty good.

《【Evade】Level Up!》

「They were just like ghosts.」

「That gave me the creeps.」

「You guys seemed to do just fine though.」

「「We were scared!」」

They"re speaking in sync again.
But we"ve only been hunting for half an hour.
I think I can do this 4 more times.

「Enchanted Weapon doesn"t last that long. I"ll renew the spell in the middle of the fight this time.」

「Huh?」

「Can"t we wait a while?」

「The monsters won"t wait for us, you know?」

I"m going a little tough on them.
We need to move.

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