Translator: Eisen　Editor: Weasalopes

Chapter 107

《You have received some information from the GMs. Do you wish to read it?》

　Oh.
　So there"s a new message from the GM"s, huh?
　Hmm.
　I"ll check it out later.

　I made some potions last night before logging out.
　I had been refilling bottles just in case, but I ended up logging out after midnight because of that.
　It seems that my MP has recovered completely.
　There"s no problem then.
　I"ll try to enjoy myself to the best today as well.

「Good morning.」

「Good morniiing~~!」

　Adele and Irina seem to be already starting their cooking training.
　They always seem to log in earlier than I normally do.

「There are a limited number of ingredients being prepared at Fiona"s today, but it looks like they"re giving them away for free?」

「So generous!」

「Huh?」

　Generous?
　No, she may want to know the quality of the compulsory cultivation products.
　That kind of conclusion is also logical.

「I want to drop by Fiona"s later. Maybe she"s going to settle her bill?」

「Finally, huh?」

「It looks like we were able to earn quite some cash by selling dinner last night.」

「I see.」

　Without joining in our conversation, Adele begins to hum while chopping up some veggies.
　Is that eggplant?
　I summon Bunraku.
　Then I give him instructions so that he can help Adele and Irina in their ch.o.r.es.
　Shall I go and check the ingredients?

「h.e.l.lo!」

　Reina called out to me while working on something.
　Is she making arrows while tending to the store?
　There are many vegetables arranged over her desk.
　Eggplants, paprika, zucchini, tomatoes, carrots, daikon, broad beans, and something like an herb.
　It also seems that some boned ribs and fillets are set up for a beef stew.
　
「I"ve eaten so much grilled meat yesterday, but it doesn"t feel like we"re running out of it! I"ve been having steaks since this morning!」

「You must be feeling heavy, huh?」

　I receive the vegetables as I give her a wry smile.
　Some tomatoes, eggplants, paprika, and zucchini.
　The herbs from before are actually basil. I get a small amount of it as well.
　My cooking abilities can only qualify as catastrophic, so I limit myself to only shopping.
　I can"t boast about it or anything.

「Hey!」

「h.e.l.lo, Mio! What a steak we"ve had this morning!」

「Those fillet steaks we ordered are the real deal! So tasty!」

　It"s not that bad.
　Having such heavy meals since this early, though…
　Well, it might be all right since it"s a game.
　Wait, the time is reversed by 12 hours in the real world, so it might be okay as dinner instead.

　There are many players lined up and waiting for their turn.
　They really must love steak!

　As I go back, I notice that Adele and Irina are baking something.
　I know that smell very well.
　Are they baking bread?

「Welcome back!」

「This guy"s really helpful!」

「Didn"t you two get any vegetables?」

「Just flour. The idea is to bake bread and exchange it for many other things.」

「Oh…」

　I give the vegetables to Bunraku.
　He knows what I expect him to do.
　Taking the opportunity, I take out three Golden Chicken Eggs and give them to him, too.

「What do you want to make?」

「Ratatouille. You can make something with those eggs later.」

「There"s olive oil there.」

　The three of them started cooking.
　Would it be okay to leave them to it?
　Should I start doing some extractions?
　No, wait.
　What was that message from the GMs about?
　
「What"s the message from the GMs?」

「It"s about Battle Mode!」

「You can agree with other players to set up your own tournaments of sorts.」

　Oh?
　So that"s what it was.
　So, can this be used to train Lambda as well?
　That"s what I"d like to know.
　I don"t want to read the whole thing.

　All right.
　I summon Zangetsu, Helix, and Obsidian.
　I"m going to do some extractions out of my Ancient Stones.
　I wonder how will it turn out this time?

「Can you cook?」

「Oh, just a moment.」

　I guess that even though Bunraku is helping them, it doesn"t count as me helping.
　But isn"t it faster like this?
　Besides, I"m about to finish with this Ancient Stone, too.
　I want to finish this first.

　After such a long wait, I end up extracting a piece of amber out of the Ancient Stone.
　It looks very delicate.
　But it looks much more beautiful than the previous ones, and the quality seems to be very good.
　Well, I"m pretty pleased with the results.

　We"re having freshly baked bread, ratatouille and poached eggs for breakfast.
　I"ll pa.s.s from having steak this early.
　Only Adele is having some.
　This would be best with some milk, but this village doesn"t have any cows yet.
　What a shame.

　There was some food left over, but I"m going to take it all with me.
　It"s only one serving, but let"s save it for lunch.

　After tidying up, I head over to Fiona"s together with Adele and Irina.
　She seemed to be in the middle of some sort of inspection in her warehouse.
　But I saw something horrible on the way here!
　It was a huge pile of meat!
　What is she planning to do with this?

「Hey, we"re here!」

「Good morning! Come right in!」

　The usual loud voice is resounding outside.
　Is it an early morning meeting announcement of sorts?

「All right, let"s get this over with quickly.」

　She hands me a small bag.
　It"s pretty heavy!

「Isn"t this too much?」

「You"ve been a great help, haven"t you? I think that"s what it"s worth.」

　Fiona also gives Adele and Irina some small bags with money.

「Are you guys helping Mio today?」

「Yes.」

「We"ll do our best!」

「Thank you! We have a lot of meat to take care of, but you girls are doing a great job!」

　I see.
　Adele and Irina are helping Mio as well.
　
「What are you helping Mio with now?」

「Preserved beef foods!」

「We"re preparing beef jerky.」

　That"s right.
　It"s certainly impossible to eat that huge amount of meat in just a few days.
　It would be such a waste not to preserve it as dried meat.

「I wonder if it can be boiled…」

「I would like to add some ginger or pepper to it. I"d love some soy sauce for it, too.」

「No way!」

「This recipe is the real deal!」

　Well, I really hope so.
　Let"s not exaggerate about this.

　From the loot I obtained yesterday, I"m selling the Golden Chicken Wings and Antman Wax.
　Of course, I"m keeping the chicken meat and eggs for myself.

「Oh! It"s almost time for the meeting!」

　Urged by Fiona, we head to the center of the village.
　Just like yesterday, many players have gathered there.

　But still.
　Only half of the expected amount of people are here for the meeting.
　Well, just like yesterday, it seems to be limited to confirming the facts about the new reports.
　I"m leaving the reporting about the situation at the W3 Map to Irina.
　The only thing being said about that is the situation during night-time at the northern forest.

　Even though there are reports of Antmen loitering around the forest at night, they are not very important, since the fact that they live in caves is well known.
　Are there any other important news?
　Only one.
　The Adventurer"s Guild from Remut seems to be gathering any information related to the event.
　It also seems that there are some search requests.
　It"s finally moving, isn"t it?

　Hannes isn"t here. He had visited the young saplings and used Grow on them yesterday.
　He definitely did use Grow.
　It"s barely noticeable, but I can definitely see some growth there.
　You just need to be patient.
　There might be many varieties of trees, but their growth rates are different.
　Me? I can"t even tell peach trees and chestnut trees apart.

　I find Hannes on the way to the wheat fields.

「Oh, good morning, Keith.」

「Good morning.」

　About half of the wheat field has been cleared out.
　Speaking of which, didn"t they say at the meeting that the prototyped wheat fields have been harvested and that they have already produced flour?

「It seems that there are some places that are already selling bread made with our flour. Have you tried it yet?」

「Yes, I"ve had some freshly baked.」

「Were there any problems with it?」

「Of course not.」

　We chat for a while.
　They"re currently trying to grow spinach too.
　It also looks like they will be making canola oil today.

「Well, my favorite is olive oil, though…」

「Have you secured the seeds already?」

「It"s taken us some time and hard work.」

　Hannes looks delighted.
　Olive oil has existed in this world from the start, but it"s still important to be able to procure it in the near future.

「As soon as I have rice and grapes, I"d like to start raising livestock.」

「That sounds like fun.」

　Rice, huh?
　Surely there are many players who want rice.
　And when it comes to flavoring, many want soy sauce and miso.
　Also, people all over the place may want to have soul foods with all their hearts.

　Well then.
　I recall Bunraku and summon Rig.
　I haven"t been paying much attention to the meeting since I was thinking about something else.
　Where to next?
　I have been troubled in many ways, but I have a score I want to settle.
　It"s time to get my revenge on that b.u.t.terfly.
　Let"s go through the northern cave and to the N1W2 Map.

　I can see parties moving out of the Wind Spirit Village in all directions through Helix"s eyes.
　Most of them are heading south.
　Two of the parties are going towards the west.
　It looks like they want to earn experience points despite the risk.
　Well, give it your all, guys!

　Let"s go search over there.
　I"m riding on Zangetsu to run past the four parties ahead.
　Rig"s also riding with me, but Zangetsu"s speed is unaffected.
　It"s been a while since I used this formation to move around.

　On the way to the forest, I hunt three Enraged Cranes and take off their beaks.
　I also encounter a Raptor, but I leave it alone since it"s not Active.
　It seems that there aren"t as many monsters in the forest as usual.
　I"m constantly attacked by Wild Pheasants (F), though.
　But now I"ve got Rig with me.
　These monsters don"t stand a chance since Rig can catch their attacks and prevent them from moving.
　My Monster Summons are just toying with these monsters.
　I can"t help but pity the poor things.

　There"s also a Black Bear around.
　I"ll leave it alone too since it"s set to Pa.s.sive.
　It"s a good monster to hunt, but I don"t want to get any of its heavy items now.

　I rush into the cave.
　Since Zangetsu and Helix are not suitable here, I"ll recall them and summon Goki and Senki in their stead.
　As usual, Rig sticks to Senki"s back.
　All right.
　Shall we try to dash through?

　Let"s be honest.
　Antmen are a pain.
　I mean, they still give experience points, but is it worth it?
　It"s nice to find them in the middle of the forest at night, but it"s truly a pain!
　I wonder why I"m not that bothered by Evil Ants as I am for Antmen.
　It"s so weird.

　Well, there shouldn"t be any players ahead of us in the cave.
　So…
　I"ll make a train inside the cave.

　Run, run!
　Keep running.
　I"m using Physical Enchant: Wind just to be safe.
　I can"t underestimate these guys though! Some of them may even be able to get to me.

　Their footsteps echo from behind me.
　How many are there?
　Looking behind, all I see are red markers.
　I need to keep going until I reach the exit.
　It takes about 40 minutes.

　I"ve been thinking of a counterattack as I ran through the caves.
　I raise my INT using Mental Enchant: Dark.
　It"s almost time.
　Let"s go!

「Fire Wall!」

「Gravel Blast!」

　At the same time, Senki turns around.
　Then, Goki turns around as well.
　Obsidian also joins the fray.
　An intensely violent battle begins.

　The purpose of the Fire Wall is simple:
　To close the cave at the very last minute, and force the groups of Antmen to separate.
　But still, there"s still an insane number of Antmen as far as I can see.
　I use the Earth spell against that group.

　I want to quickly destroy those Antmen that have made me take damage.
　I don"t think they"re going to try to come through the Fire Wall, but we"ll be in trouble if such numbers push through after the spell"s effect wears off.
　Senki, Goki and Obsidian are destroying Antmen faster than I had thought.
　As for me, I"m fighting non-stop with my tonfas.

　Well, that"s unexpected.
　Some Antmen are actually thrusting themselves through the Fire Wall.
　Of course, they"re taking heavy damage.
　They"re making this easier for us.
　How nice of them!

　But I don"t have time to admire such things.
　I select a spell from the list as I continue to fight with my tonfas.
　Will I make it on time?

「Wind Shield!」

　The wall spell makes it just in time as the Fire Wall disappears.
　I"ll get my next spell ready.

　Most of the Antmen that are attacking us now have taken a great deal of damage.
　But some of them look healthy as well.
　Antman Rooks and Antman Bishops.
　And another one that looks like them.

　Antman Knight　Lv.3
　Monster　Enemy Target　Active – Enraged

　That club it"s wielding looks dangerous!
　But I won"t get to know how dangerous it really is.
　The torso of the monster wielding it is being ripped to shreds by Senki right now.

「Fire Wall!」

　I make two layers of Fire Wall.
　But still, the Antmen are trying to rush through.
　Oh boy.
　Every Antman that comes through the Fire Walls is either severely damaged, or already dead.
　What, was it that easy?
　
　Even the stronger looking ones are being taken care of one by one.
　There are still some Antmen left trying to breach through the walls, so I"m adding two more layers.
　About half of them ended up killing themselves trying to rush through.
　I kind of feel sorry for them.

《【Block】Level Up!》
《【Spell Effect Amplification】Level Up!》
《【Spell Range Amplification】Level Up!》

　But still, I"m happy.
　Oh, Antmen.
　Your sacrifices haven"t been in vain!

　Of course, I"m looting their corpses for wax and nectar.
　I may feel sorry for them, but that"s a different thing.

　Coming out of the cave, I reach the N1W2 Map.
　I proceeded carefully through the forest without changing my lineup..
　That b.u.t.terfly must be around here somewhere.
　I will have my revenge!

　The behavioral pattern of the Brown Bears also seems different.
　There are fewer Active ones, and I often see Pa.s.sive ones.
　What"s more, they seem to be forming small groups of two or three bears.
　Thanks to that, fighting them is complicated.

　Two of them are fine.
　I can leave one to Senki and Rig.
　The problem is when there"s three.
　It"s too much of a burden for Goki alone.
　I can send Obsidian to help him, though.

　In other words, it means that I have to take care of the third one by myself.
　I could wait for Senki to be done with his bear and come help me, but that"s boring.
　I"m fighting one in close quarters by using Paralysis and Delay.
　I think I"m getting quite used to the tonfas.
　When I thrust my tonfa into the bear"s eye socket, it goes in deeper.

　I also somehow block the bear"s swipe attack with my tonfas.
　The bear roars angrily.
　But as I thrust my other tonfa into its other eye socket, it goes quiet.
　It seems to have died.
　What?
　That was too quick!

　Wait.
　Senki had driven its knife through the bear"s side.
　So the first and second bears have already been defeated?
　Well, thanks.

　Obsidian rests on my shoulder and remains vigilant.
　Sometimes, he goes up a tree in order to get a better view of the surroundings.
　This forest is full of vitality.
　There are many wild animals and birds that cannot be targeted as enemies.
　I didn"t pay attention to that detail when I came here before.

　That doesn"t mean I have the time to sightsee.
　I"m only looking around.
　I"m standing by for if and when that b.u.t.terfly appears.
　I have to defeat it!

　I found it!
　Though it would be more appropriate to say that it found me.

　Stab b.u.t.terfly　Lv.3
　Monster　Enemy Target　Active

　We meet again.
　Perched on a tree branch, it spreads its wings.
　I can"t help my eyes getting fixed on them.
　But my resistance to status conditions has definitely gone up since the last time.
　And I"m better equipped to strike back now.

「Psycho Pod!」

　I cast a spell that I had prepared in advance.
　As I decide what spell to use next, I think about giving instructions to the Monster Summons.
　But it looks like Senki, Goki and Obsidian have all been affected by a status condition.
　Rig seems to be unaffected, though.
　I check Obsidian"s marker and find the status abnormality『Asleep』on him.
　He"s fallen asleep!
　I wake him up with a gentle poke.
　
　I turn my eyes back at the monster, which is flying towards us.
　It builds up alt.i.tude little by little, and then starts accelerating downwards.
　Its target is Senki.
　I don"t have time to use a spell!

　The monster"s needle-like mouth hits Senki in the middle of the forehead!
　But the attack is deflected.
　Rig emerged from Senki"s back and covered his entire head up from the throat.

　The monster is now heading towards Goki.
　It"s trying to attack him from behind.
　But Obsidian intercepts its attack!
　I also fire off a spell.

「Wind Cutter!」

　The spell hits the monster directly.
　And the damage?
　I"d say about half of its HP is now gone.
　So, is this guy strong or weak after all?
　I can"t really tell.

　I attack the b.u.t.terfly after Obsidian made it break its stance.
　Just one blow.
　Yes, after a single blow, the b.u.t.terfly drops its wings and dies.
　Its HP Bar is also undoubtedly empty.

　That was quick!

　Since the monster dropped no items when it died, I go to where Senki and Goki are.
　Their markers are still overlapped with smaller markers that indicate their status abnormalities.
　Looking closely, I could see each of the statuses they have.
　Senki is under Asleep and Blindness.
　Goki is Asleep.

　Just like with Obsidian, all it takes to wake them up is a single gentle poke.
　After a little while, the Blindness status disappears, too.
　I see.
　So that"s what happened the last time I met that monster.
　There is a countermeasure for that.
　But I think that leaving it to the spell Psycho Pod is not as efficient as expected.
　I"d like to know if there"s any other plan I can come up with to solve this puzzle.

Protagonist　Keith
Race　Human　Male　Racial Lv12
Job　Summoner Lv12
Bonus Points Remaining 0

Skill Sets
Staff Lv10　Punch Lv7　Kick Lv7　Joint Lock Lv6　Throw Lv6
Evade Lv7　Block Lv7 (↑1) Summon Magic Lv12　s.p.a.cetime Magic Lv5
Light Magic Lv6　Wind Magic Lv7　Earth Magic Lv7　Water Magic Lv6
Fire Magic Lv6　Dark Magic Lv6　Ice Magic Lv4　Lightning Magic Lv5
Tree Magic Lv5　Dust Magic Lv4　Lava Magic Lv3　Steam Magic Lv4
Alchemy Lv6　Pharmacy Lv5　Gla.s.smaking Lv3　Woodworking Lv4
Synergy Lv9　Appraise Lv9　Identify Lv9　Discern Lv3　Cold Resistance Lv5
Grab Lv7　Horsemanship Lv7　Precise Manipulation Lv9　Jump Lv4
Heat Resistant Lv4　Climb Lv4　Dual Wield Lv6　Disa.s.sembly Lv5
Physical Reinforcement Lv4　Mental Reinforcement Lv4　Speedcasting Lv6
Spell Effect Amplification Lv2 (↑1) Spell Range Amplification Lv2 (↑1)

Equipment　Kaya Wood Rod × 1　Kaya Wood Tonfa × 2　Enraged Pickaxe+ × 2　
Silver Necklace+　Snow Leopard Push Dagger × 1　Gale Tiger Push Dagger × 2
Snow Leopard Bagh Nakh
Wild Horse Leather Armor+　Snow Ape Armguard　Wild Horse Boots+
Snow Ape Leather Helmet　Rampage Belt+　Rucksack　Item Box × 2

Items:
Survival Knife, Woodworking Tools

t.i.tles:
Old Summoner"s Temporary Pupil
Protector of the Forest
Man of the Middle Path
Spell Glossary

Monster Summons:
Volff　Grey Wolf Lv2
Zangetsu　White Horse Lv1
Helix　Hawk Lv7
Obsidian　Owl Lv7
Jean　Bat Lv7
Jericho　Wood Golem Lv5
Goki　Demon Lv6
Senki　Beast Ape Lv6
Rig　Slime Lv4
Bunraku　Wood Puppet Lv4
Mumyo　Skeleton Lv4
Ninetails　Red Fox Lv3