Translation: Charlotte
Editor: Weasalopes

It was 5:30 am when I logged in.

I just felt like getting to it a little earlier.

But Master was awake even earlier.

I summoned only Bunraku and walked down to the workshop, where I found Master.

Recovery Pills were lined up on the desk.

Master"s work, huh.

「Oh, aren"t you early.」

「Good morning~」

「Good morning.」

At Master"s signal, Metalskin put a meal on the table.

It was really early.

Bunraku had no opportunity to show off.

「The qualifiers start today.」

「Yes.」

「Well don"t push yourself too far, alright?」

「I intend to do that.」

「Looking forward to it~」

As soon as we finished eating, we immediately got going.

Early.

It"s way too early!

What are you, a kid?

They were going to get good seats anyway…

Why were they in such a hurry?

Master summoned Battle Horse.

Juna summoned Sleipnir.

I recalled Bunraku.

I summoned Zangetsu, Helix, Obsidian, Ninetails, and Heather.

We were just supposed to travel to Remut.

But it became more like a race!

As soon as they got out on the road, they suddenly raised their speed to an incredible level.

I had to use【Physical Enchant: Wind】on Zangetsu just to keep up.

Well, I kind of expected that.

After looking at Sleipnir close-up.

It really was an amazing creature.

Muscle.

Power.

Those were the only words that came to mind.

Getting trampled on would probably mean instant death.

The monsters didn"t try attacking Master.

Great.

That was probably the smarter choice.

Fighting Master would probably cross the line from brave to stupid.

We arrived in Remut.

There were more people there than ever before.

I recalled Zangetsu so I wouldn"t be a nuisance to the commute.

Master and Juna also recalled their horses.

「A lot of people here, huh.」

「Well, that"s to be expected.」

「The atmosphere feels nice~」

I headed to the new training grounds with Master in the lead.

But before that, an info screen appeared.

《Your friend has sent you a message.》

Hmm?

Oh, it was from Rick.

『We"re doing a street stall in Remut right now. I can hand it to you anytime today.』

Great.

I went to see them right away.

「Master, I"m going to stop here.」

「Hmm? Have some ch.o.r.es to take care of?」

「Well, something like that.」

「Alright, I look forward to seeing you in the tournament.」

「See you~」

「Thanks.」

I went my separate way.

I headed towards the place where they usually set up their stalls.

What kind of weapon would it be…?

Rick"s stall was pretty busy.

Clearly there were a lot of players.

The goods they were selling consisted of mainly leather armour.

I used【Appraise】on them, and they were either Fighting Bull Leather or Brown Bear Leather.

「h.e.l.lo.」

「Oh, Keith. It"s a little cramped, but go ahead and head to the back.」

I gave a small nod of greeting to Fudo and Helga.

Rick prompted me to go to the back of the stall..

Hmm?

「Thanks for letting me keep this for you for a while. Here are the weapons you ordered.」

Rick handed me a hammer and a hatchet.

I immediately used【Appraise】.

【Weapon: One-handed Hammer】Hammer of Roars　Grade C+　Rarity 5

AP+14　Power 3+　Weight 1+　Durability 160

Blacksmith Skill Boost [Small]

A hammer with an iron-cast hammerhead, wrought with Wendigo Bones.

Compared to the weight of the hammerhead, the shaft is somewhat long and light. Relatively difficult to use.

A low sound echoes through the bones when the hammer is struck. It is not suitable for throwing.

【Weapon: Hatchet】Hatchet of Roars　Grade B-　Rarity 4

AP+17　Power 3　Weight 1+　Durability 180

Attack Hit Rate Increase [Slight]

A weapon that uses its weight rather than sharpness to do damage.

The handle is made using Wendigo Bones.

A low sound resounds louder from the weapon the more damage it does.

Hmm?

They looked like pretty strong items.

「Well, even though it"s possible to get more raw materials, I"m looking to keep this item information secret for the time being.」

「Hmm?」

「Especially the Hammer of Roars. It"s turning out to be a very similar situation to the Hammer of Echoes.」

Ah.

The text was small, so I didn"t see the words “Blacksmith Skill Boost”.

「We made another hammer out of the other Wendigo Bone, after all.」

「Ah, yeah that"s going to be the subject of some arguments…」

「No, I don"t think it"ll be that bad this time. Although it"s only recently that the Hammer of Echoes has gone into circulation.」

「Huh?」

「It will take some time, but this Hammer of Roars will eventually become more common. No doubt about it.」

Hmm…

But I wasn"t as confident as Rick.

The Wendigos" natural habitat wasn"t certain yet, and hunting them was quite a tough challenge.

But Rick had a point, they would be beaten eventually.

「I can already imagine how much trouble you went through to get the bones. Take it easy, alright? No need to rush in getting more bones.」

「Really? Is that alright?」

「I mean, the fact that I want more doesn"t change. Just… You don"t have to rush it.」

Great.

Well, if that was the case, I could explore the map some more before I kept fighting them.

There were some caves I hadn"t checked out.

「But the tournament comes first, right?」

「Well, yeah.」

「Please do your best.」

「I will, thanks.」

Yes, I"ll work as hard as usual.

As usual.

There were many NPCs and players in the town.

The entrance to the arena was quite crowded,

There were also many parties at the reception of the new training grounds.

But it wasn"t as crowded as the other place.

「Morning!」

「Good morning.」

Wait, what?

It was Adele and Irina.

「Oh, morning. It"s pretty early. 」

「I stayed here overnight~」

「Master Gelta let us stay.」

「When the tournament is over, we"re definitely going to help out Master in return!」

Great.

Gelta was taking care of them…

Sounded tough.

「You need to already have summoned all the Summon Monsters you want to take in with you before you register.」

「Oh, thanks.」

Prompted by Irina, I changed up my team.

I recalled Helix, Obsidian, Ninetails and Heather.

I replaced them with Volff, Jericho, Senki, Goki, and Rig.

I pa.s.sed the Hatchet of Roars to Goki and put the Hammer of Roars in my《Item Box》.

「Isn"t Goki your only rear guard here?」

「It looks like Goki is planning to fight in the front lines too though.」

They both had a point.

What was the point of a rear guard? To guard the rear.

But in my case, I wasn"t in the rear.

I had no intention of hiding behind my Summon Monsters.

「So, you two are fighting together?」

「Yes.」

「”Get ready to get smashed!” is the feeling we want to project.」

On Adele"s side was the tiger Mii-chan and the wolf U-chan.

On Irina"s side was the viper Toggle and the tiger Calico.

Too many fluffy monsters!

「So the two of you are taking care of the rear, and the four Summon Monsters will be in the front, yes?」

「Yep.」

「We"re going to settle each battle in no time!」

Great.

It was a solid plan.

Three beasts attacking from the front was certainly a formidable thought.

Toggle"s job was still a mystery.

「What time is your match today?」

「9:40, at the new training ground C」

「Your match is before mine, huh.」

「When is yours, Keith?」

「Mine starts at 10:00, it is the new training ground A」

「Oh! That means we can watch each other"s matches!」

The two of them looked at each other with glints in their eyes.

Were they planning something?

I had to strike first.