Translation: DarkHeartedAlchemist
Editor: Weasalopes

《New system message available. Do you want to check it? 》

When I logged in, a new system message was waiting for me.
Is it the usual thing?
No, the usual statistical data was just released yesterday, so it definitely has to be something else.

《Notice of video storage function test implementation.》

Uh.
What is this?
Let"s look at the contents.

{A video storage function that has been highly requested has finally been implemented.}

Requested function, huh?
Might as well try it out later.

I also briefly read the explanation.
It seems that videos cannot be saved indefinitely.
Of course.
Approx. 30 minutes of video footage per person allowed.
30 minutes per person? Is that much, or very little?

In my case, I was wondering if I"ll be using such a function at all?
It seems that my battles can be saved as videos and played back from multiple viewpoints and film how other parties fight.
For now I have no use of such a function, so let"s just keep it at the back of my head for now, summon Bunraku and make breakfast.

Now then.
What should I do today?
Should I go to that crater again?
I still haven"t searched the cave in it yet.
There is also a Relay Portal.

Going immediately is probably not a good idea.
I want a little more Wound-blocking Gra.s.s.
Also, my supplies of meat are running low, so I should stock up on those while I have the chance.

The support system is also important, after all.
So with that in mind, let"s spend today travelling.

That"s right.
I can go to the Forest Maze.
Paying master a visit at her house might also be a good idea.

Since today will be all about movement, let"s go and choose the party focused mainly on movement speed.
I summon Zangetsu, Helix, Obsidian and Heather.
Today, experience earning is just a secondary objective.

When I finished eating breakfast, I called Bunraku back and summoned Rig.
Now we are good to go.

The weather today is not so good.
A light snow is falling, and it"s very cold.

Resist Ice is active, but without proper winter clothing the cold could still be felt very clearly.
Heather has even hid herself in my clothing.
She can be such a handful at times.
Even Rig has firmly attached himself to my back to use my body"s temperature to avoid hardening from the cold.

The mountain weather really is severe.

Fighting in such conditions can be quite difficult for us.
As for the enemies, Snow Apes are fine with the cold.
They moved around energetically in the distance, hunting for other animals or fighting among themselves.
The Black Bears, on the other hand, are generally pretty pa.s.sive.
Should I try to get closer to them?
Is it really okay?
Or maybe I should just ignore them all altogether and move along?

I rush forward to avoid any Snow Ape encounters.
Helix and Obsidian were patrolling the cloudy skies, which helped me immensely.
Zangetsu was also strengthened with spells just in case.
As our speed increased, the temperature of the air that surrounded us decreased, but that was to be expected.
It"s definitely better to endure a little cold than to waste precious time for needless battles.

We have arrived at the crossroads on the mountain"s summit unexpectedly early.

Thankfully it looks like not that much snow has fallen here last night.
I direct Zangetsu towards the Ivy Route and we make our descent.
I also summoned Creep, but his movements were suddenly very slow.
Strange. I thought snakes were poikilothermic animals.
When I looked at him, there are suddenly overlapping small markers above his head.
His AGI has been cut in half!
I thought about summoning him back for a moment, but ultimately decided to proceed as we were.
If we go to the Forest Maze, the temperature will surely rise.
Just in case, I have equipped some warmer clothes and made creep hide inside them.

Heather poked her head out from my chest, while Creep coiled himself around me and stuck hid head out next to my right ear.
And Rig was still glued to my back.
We must be looking pretty comical right now.
Combining Zangetsu"s speed with the Levitation spell we rushed down the mountain while ignoring all of the monster encounters.
This route takes time to climb down, but you can move really fast once you figure out how to avoid unnecessary distractions.
Levitation sure is a convenient spell to have in times like these.

《New system message available. Do you want to check it? 》

The info came just before we reached the entrance to the forest.
Unfortunately I have my hands full at the moment, so it will have to wait until we will get off the mountain completely.

We finally made it to our destination after a few more minutes of riding.
Even though there was no longer any need to wear warmer clothes, it was still a little bit chilly

There are few players around, or rather several parties lounging in the starting area where there was no monsters.
Are they having a break?
It looks like they were all discussing something pretty lively.
Anyway, now would be a great opportunity to open the messages tab and see the info that I have received.

《Today"s event has been cleared, and the Area Portal and Relay Portal have reached a total of 15 locations! The monsters appearance rate has returned to normal. To all the players, please pay attention from now on.》

Oh.
Now that is a good news.
I will have to make sure to read the entire announcement later.
For now, I gently closed the window.
I have to keep moving quickly.

When I pa.s.sed through the Forest Maze, I called Creep back and summoned Zangetsu again.
We rushed ahead along the Forest Road until we reached another stop: Legias Village.

When I arrived at the village
I felt that the number of players has rapidly increased.
I think there are many parties leaving for hunting during this time.
Is it comparable to the bustle of the town of Lemut?
Well, it"s pretty crowded.
It seems that there is a wide variety of items for sales in the stalls.
I took this opportunity to buy some spices.

I made my way on the road leading to Lemut.
It"s been a while since I"ve been here.
I wanted to do some horseback monster hunting, but there are many people coming and going along the road so I have to postpone that idea not to bother them.

There are many parties that are hunting.
Since it is troublesome to enter, I decided to enter the forest as soon as possible.

Is there a lot of people here too?
We had a few encounters with monsters.
When we were done with them, I saw a familiar-looking monster approaching us from the sky.

Master"s Magiowl.
It slowly descended towards us and sat on my head and looked at Helix on my right shoulder and obsidian on my right shoulder. Looks like they were exchanging information with each other.

Concluding that it was not a simple chance encounter I made my way towards master"s house. But then…
[Hey there, lazybones. Long time no see, huh?] [Eh? Master?]

Apparently master was talking to me through her familiar.

Isn"t that like, too sudden?
Ah well, I guess I can humor her and help her as long as it won"t be anything too difficult.

When master"s house was finally within my sight, the Magiowl flew away and headed over the gate.

When the two monsters were lined up over the gate, they started monitoring their surroundings.
On the other hand, Helix does not move from my shoulder.
He just stayed still.

I go through the gate and head inside the house.
A familiar scenery greeted me.
Somehow it made me very relieved.

Next I made my way to the underground workshop together with Heather and Rig.
Helix was left behind in front of the house at Zangetsu"s back.
Heather jumped out from my clothes and floated around the whole workshop, examining everything that picked her interest.
Just don"t go making too much mischief, okay?

Master poked Rig, in whom she seemed to take great interest, with her finger and then turned towards me.

Maybe it"s just my imagination, but Master seems to be very frustrated about something.

The desk was clearly in a working state.
It seems like she was making a potion again.
Could this be what she wanted to ask me about? To help her with creating a potion?

There she goes, acting like a dumb child again.
Is there really a person whom she hates so much that she absolutely doesn"t want to meet them?

That old guy Gerta didn"t seem like a good person at all, but she didn"t seem to hate him all that much.

100 of them?
I feel that it is less than the number that the master has delivered before.

I noticed when I tried to put said bottles from the desk into the Item Box.
It"s not just a regular potion.
The bottle has a different shape and seems to have a smaller capacity than usual.

Wow.
An MP recovery potion.

Master showed me an item which she was holding in her hand
A Magic Mushroom.

Well, considering her skills with such things it"s not strange at all.
Maybe I"ll be able to learn something handy if I help her make them.
So it looks like we"ll have to get more magic mushrooms then.