Translator: Cryus

It"s another usual morning.
Master"s house is a little too comfortable.
I wonder what to do today.
I"ll take on anything, as long as it"s not too difficult.

I leave the forest and head into the plains.
Through Helix, I can see a few parties that look like they"re hunting Wild Dogs.
I"m pa.s.sing by a few parties that look like they"ve been hunting monsters throughout the night.
They look horrible.
But their fighting spirit remains intact.
Well done, good hunters.
I should really learn from them.

I stayed on the path so as not to get in their way.
Since I was only hunting the Horn Rabbits with the Active status, I arrived at Remut in no time.
As usual, I had some food at the stall before heading to the Adventurer"s Guild.
Something surprising happened on my way there.

It was a player.
There was a green marker on his head, so there was no doubt about it.
What caught my attention was the top of the rod he was holding.
There was an owl on it.
And there was a green marker on the owl as well.
Which means that the player was a Summoner.

He"s a Summoner.

I heard that there has been a slow but steady increase in the number of new players since the start of the public release.
I never thought that I would meet a fellow Summoner so soon.

The Summoner hurried out of town.
He was alone.
The owl was looking this way.
It wasn"t really looking at me, but rather at Helix who was perched on my shoulder.

The Adventurer"s Guild is more crowded than usual, but the Guild Leader quickly came and led the way to the room.
The female employee is changing the request forms on the bulletin board.
The middle-aged employee is standing still behind the Guild Leader.
But he"s holding a rather fine-looking lance in his hand.
This is the room I"ve always been to, right?

There are a few bundles of paper stacked on the table.
Another male employee is checking the contents of those papers and arranging them.

「Oh! Keith, you"re here early today.」

「Yes, I am.」

Something about his expression bothers me.
His smile seems forced.

「I"m sorry about yesterday. It was quite the quarrel.」

「Looks like it was.」

「Mm. So, I"ll start giving you a different request from the usual, if that"s okay?」

「Sure.」

The employee who"s taking care of the scrolls gives me a glance.

「Stay with him for a while. He"ll tell you what the request is about.」

「Understood.」

Lugran leaves right away. He seems busy.
I"ll ignore the fact that he"s also acting weird.
As for the middle-aged employee, he"s completely expressionless and motionless.

I"m really curious.
I decided to ask the employee who"s guiding me to our destination.

「Um, did something happen to the armored guard in the room?」

「Oh, please don"t worry about it. It"s just a measure to prevent escapes.」

What does that mean?

「Escapes?」

「He has a bad record. He"s snuck out to have fun in town while leaving mirages behind.」

「Huh.」

Is everything really okay with the Adventurer"s Guild?
The guild leader, frivolously using his magic to go out to town and have fun?
The employee looks kind of scary.
I"ll play nice.

We"ve arrived at the training ground.
I can see a few NPC town guards.
I wonder what they"re doing here, but it looks like they have nothing to do with anything here.
There are four green markers at the very back of the training ground.
But there are only two human shadows.
There"s a tiger lying right next to one of them.

There"s something large on the other player"s shoulder.
I take a closer look. It"s the head of a snake.
It"s rather huge.

There are green markers on top of the tiger and the snake.
That means they"re monster summons.
Which also means that both players are Summoners.

「Your task will be to mentor them. There is no deadline. Please make sure they"re able to go on an adventure.」

Huh?
I"m the one who"s still begging for guidance from Master.
This is impossible.

「Um, are you asking me to do it because Master isn"t here?」

「Yes. We don"t quite feel comfortable a.s.signing such tasks to Master Aurnier.」

《You have received a quest from the Guild. Do you wish to accept it?》

Ugh, this is the hardest quest I"ve had to think about so far.
What should I do?
I myself was in a similar predicament.
I should accept this quest too.

「I accept.」

《You have accepted a quest from the Guild!》

Huh?
There"s no clear condition?
How does it happen?

「Then, we"ll entrust them to you.」

The employee leaves us, heading towards the guards.
Looks like it"s up to me now.

I"m looking at both Summoners.
I call out to them so as not to【Identify】them.

「Let me introduce myself. I"m Keith. I"m a Summoner, as you can see.」

「I"m Adele, and this is Mii-chan.」

The Summoner who calls herself Adele looks smaller than Mio.
Her tiger is called Mii-chan.
It also looks like a tabby cat depending on how you look at it, and it has a childish name too.
But it"s strangely fitting.
Adele face looks young, and maybe a little boyish.

「Oh, I"m Irina. And my monster summon is called Toggle.」

Irina looks a little bigger than Adele, albeit also a small-looking girl.
Her snake is called Toggle.
How should I say this?
She looks like a traditional j.a.panese Ichimatsu doll.
She"s not wearing a kimono, but it fits because of the snake.

「We have a lot to talk about, so let"s go somewhere else. Have you had breakfast already?」

「「Yes.」」

The way they respond in unison makes them seem young and innocent.
But it"s not like I"ve played the beta version of this game.
Is it really okay for me to teach them?

We join Zangetsu and Helix, who are waiting outside the Adventurer"s Guild.
Right, I should introduce them too.

「Let me introduce my monster summons. The horse is Zangetsu, and the hawk is Helix.」

「Nice to meet you!」

「Pleased to meet you.」

They"re politely greeting my monster summons.
Both the cheerful Adele and the calm Irina seem friendly.

「Do you both have【Appraise】and【Identify】?」

「Oh, I have【Appraise】but not【Identify】.」

「Me too.」

「Do you still have any spare Bonus Points?」

「Yes.」

「I haven"t used any of them, so I"m fine too.」

「In that case, obtain and active the skill immediately. Once that"s done, try using【Identify】on Zangetsu and Helix.」

「「Okay.」」

Good.
They"re following my instructions pretty well.
Obedience can be a good thing.
But not if they don"t think for themselves.
I wonder if Master thought the same thing.
But I get the feeling that most players have the【Identify】and【Appraise】skills.
Not that I really cared since I was prepared to play solo.

「Let"s start with you, Adele. Can you see Zangetsu"s level?」

「Yes, it"s a Level 3 Horse!」

「Your turn, Irina. What about Helix?」

「It"s a Level 3 Hawk.」

「Good. What about me?」

「「You"re a Level 3 Summoner.」」

Correct.
I"ll give them a smile.

「Alright. You can use【Identify】or【Appraise】on other players at your discretion, as long as it doesn"t offend them.」

「「Okay.」」

「Make sure to actively use the skills on monsters and item drops. It"ll come in handy.」

「「Okay.」」

There are some things I"m choosing not to tell them.
For one, using【Identify】on monsters will add them to their monster summon list.
And the fact that having used【Identify】on Zangetsu and Helix should have given them more options as well.
I wonder if they"ll notice it.
They probably will.
After all, I did.

It"s about time I used【Identify】on them as well.

Adele　Lv.1
Summoner　Standby

Tiger / Mii-chan　Lv.1
Monster Summon　Standby

Irina　Lv.1
Summoner　Standby

Viper / Toggle　Lv.1
Monster Summon　Standby

Good.
This should add them to my own list of monster summons.
The display looks different compared to Master"s monster summons, but that"s because he didn"t bother giving them names.
Which reminds me, I don"t think I"ve ever been in a party with Master.
But I guess it"s sort of a mock party.

It"s them I"m worried about.
It"s best if we can help each other out if we"re in the same party.
I remember what Fiona and her friends as well as Fay said.
I can summon 2 monsters at once, so it makes 7 of us in total, which is over the party member limit.
That"s not good.

「By the way, I wanna ask both of you. Why did you choose to be Summoners?」

「Oh, about that.」

Adele starts talking nonstop.
She"s not giving me a chance to chime in.
I guess this is what she said in summary?

They want to play solo.
But it"s risky to play by themselves in the early game.
They"re friends in real life.
They"ve played other VRMMOs before, but never got too invested in them.
She was lucky to have a cat as her first summon.
They spent a whole day remaking their characters just so they could become Summoners.
Their goal is to make a furry empire.

I don"t think I got anything wrong.
I think what she"s saying is a little weird, but I shouldn"t think too much about it.

「Adele, stop right there.」

「Oops.」

Irina stops Adele from talking, and looks at me.
We won"t get anywhere if we just stand here and talk all day.

「Alright then, we"ll start by confirming some things.」

「「Okay!」」

There are some things I have to confirm with them.

First up is making a party.
We decided to have Adele and Irina in one party and following me in a『Union』.
They already know about the disadvantages that comes with defeating monsters together.
Basically, they"re each getting about 75% of the EXP I"m getting.
That"s because the EXP is split equally between both parties.

I"m sure it"ll change depending on how we use it, but I"ll ignore it for now.
In turn, I"m letting them get more of the item drops.
The main reason is because of their main weapons.
They"re using rods as their sub-weapons, instead using bows as their main weapons.

There"s nothing wrong about that.
I"m probably the one doing it wrong. Same with the skills, obviously.

Back to the topic at hand.
It"s easy to get items that are useful for bows and arrows in the Remut area and in the Western Forest.
The main monsters of interest are the Horn Rabbits and Steppe Hawks in the plains, as well as the Wild Pheasants (F), Hunter Bats, and Evil Ants in the forest.
Right now, most players are hunting Wild Dogs, which means that they should be ignoring the rabbits.
It"s convenient for us.

I"ve also confirmed what types of magic they"re using.
Obviously, they have Summon Magic available, and each of them should have an elemental magic as a random bonus initial skill.
Adele has Fire Magic, while Irina has Earth Magic.

I"ll let experience be their guide.
I may be repeating verbally, but I"ll give them some of Master"s advice.
I"m bringing up 2 important points.

They should learn either Light Magic or Dark Magic.
They should use a production skill as a means of income.

That"s all.
I"ll leave the rest up to them.
It"s important that they make their own decisions.

「What"s it like fighting at night?」

Since Adele asked, I"ll answer her in kind.
I"m giving them a good source of information as well, in order to supplement their decision making when they"re stuck.
I think it"s a sound decision.
They"ll be able to handle monsters together.
That"s what I believe.

They"re buying shortbows as well as Bronze Arrows and Beginner"s Arrows from the NPCs in Remut, as well as some portable food and water.
They wanted to buy some potions too, but I stop them from buying any.
I"m leaving out the details, but I have recovery spells available, and I have many potions anyway.
I have some Healgra.s.s in my rucksack, so I can resupply if we end up using the potions.

I think they still have some money to spare, but they"re not buying any new armor.
Well, I think they know what they"re doing.

「Alright, let"s start by hunting some rabbits.」

「「Okay!」」

Personally, I"m interested in seeing how the Tiger and Viper fight.
It"s time to witness the debut of the new Summoners in the plains.

Our first target is none other than the Horn Rabbits.
There are some Wild Dogs on the way, but most of them are locked onto other parties.
I"m sure the girls will face them eventually.

Now to see how they fight.
Their first kill turned out to be rather gruesome.
After they stuck an arrow into the rabbit, the Viper wrapped itself around the lower half of the rabbit and bit it, while the Tiger chewed and crushed its windpipe.
It"s obviously overkill.

Irina is the first to take the item drops from the rabbit.
I let her have the Wild Rabbit Horn, and put the Meat into the《Item Box》on Zangetsu"s saddle.
Looks like they have no problem taking on a single rabbit.

I"m letting them hunt on the way to the Western Forest.
The rabbits aren"t a problem, but the Steppe Hawks are a little tough.
They can achieve a one-hit kill if they ambush us from behind.
I"m letting Helix fly around in circles just in case, so I"m not too worried.
As for me, I"m riding Zangetsu and circling around them.
This is the least I can do to be prepared.

They"re hunting rabbits one after another on the way.
I"m focusing only on the Steppe Hawks.
Sometimes, I pick up the obsidian stones that are on the ground.
Oops, I"m sidetracking again.
The plains is relatively easy, but it"s not good in terms of helping them grow.
And as long as they"re walking on foot, I"m always going to be faster.
I want to hurry up and let them hunt in the forest.

「Sorry Zangetsu, I"m going to have you work a little.」

I hurry up and let Adele and Irina ride Zangetsu.
Obviously, I"m not doing anything that leads to s.e.xual hara.s.sment.
Toggle is also riding the horse.
Of course, this causes Zangetsu to slow down.
But this allows Mii-chan to follow along at a good pace.

We"ve pa.s.sed the lookout tower and entered the forest.
Just as we were about to make a stop at Legias before reentering the forest, we ran into a monster.

It"s a Lost Horse.

We can"t run away from this.

「Both of you, get off!」

Right after the girls and Toggle get off Zangetsu, we chase after it.
I force Helix to attack the Lost Horse"s head, giving us the advantage.
I"ll use Wind Cutter to stop it in its tracks while getting close to it using Zangetsu.
I"ll fight it while it"s stumbling if possible. I won"t let it get away.
Their arrows are effective against the Lost Horse, but it"s a tough opponent.

But we have the help of our monster summons.

Both the Lost Horse and Zangetsu are raising their front hooves in an attempt to kick each other.
It"s not going very well.
But Helix swoops down from the side, aiming for its eyes.
The Lost Horse dodges the attack, but it leaves a wide opening for me.

「Wind Cutter!」

I use Wind Cutter on its front legs.
At the same time, I thrust the Kaya Wood Rod towards its eyes.
Both attacks. .h.i.t it squarely.
Zangetsu charges right into its body, causing it to fall.
Arrows are continuously piercing its body.

Zangetsu is stomping on it with her front hooves.
Meanwhile, Toggle has been strangling its neck.
The snake bites into the Lost Horse"s windpipe.
It"s a little grotesque.
Mii-chan is also striking at its neck.
It"s horrifying.

Zangetsu is adding on to the gore by applying her body weight on her front hooves.
I"m pinning its head onto the ground using my rod.
With the Lost Horse laying on its side, Helix lands on its belly and continuously pecks at it.
It"s good teamwork.
But the Lost Horse isn"t quite dead.
Looks like the only option is to finish it off in one blow.

「Physical Enchant: Fire!」

I use the spell on myself and get off Zangetsu.
While the Lost Horse is still thrashing about wildly, I put my knees on its neck and grab its mouth with both hands.

「Here goes!」

With a cry, I force my entire body weight to the back.
I"m twisting its neck using that force.
I can hear its breathless cry of death throes… I think.
Its neck is twisted at a weird angle.
Its HP has been depleted.

Oh.
I finished it off.
I thought it would take a longer time.
It may have been a critical hit.

《【Staff】Level Up!》
《You have acquired the【Staff】Weapon Arte: Bless!》
《【Summon Magic】Level Up!》
《You have acquired a Universal Resistance spell: Dispel Magic!》
《You have acquired a Universal spell: Enchant Weapon!》
《You have acquired a Universal spell: Lock!》
《You have acquired a Universal Resistance spell: Unlock!》
《You have obtained a【Summon Magic】spell: Call Monster!》
《Job Level Up!》
《You may learn the following Support Skill(s):【Swim】》

That"s a lot of abilities I"ve acquired.
All of these Universal spells should be available to magic users once any of their magic skills reach Lv.5.
I think I"ve learned a skill that I"ve heard a long time ago.

I can also learn yet another Support Skill.
But I should watch myself.
Even if I obtain the【Swim】skill, the only place I can use it is in the pond near Master"s house.

Personally, I"m most curious about the Call Monster spell.
I"m looking up the description. It"s a spell that calls a nearby monster towards me.
That"s it.
It"s the spell that Master has been casting on the Snow Apes.

And now I"m able to summon another monster.
I"m so happy that I think I"m grinning broadly.

「What was that?」

「Hmm?」

「I understand what happened with the spells, but that attack just now…」

Are they still not used to this kind of fighting style?
Both Adele and Irina are speechless.
I think it"s pretty effective myself.

「Was it weird?」

「Something seemed weird with your equipment, but I think Summoners normally make their monster summons fight for them.」

「It"s weird.」

Whoa, that"s pretty harsh.
I can"t argue with that though.
I"m just playing however I like.

「Never mind that. Take the item drops.」

Irina is taking off some Wild Horse Skin from the Lost Horse.
It"s big and heavy, so she"s putting it in the《Item Box》on Zangetsu.
Hm?
They don"t have their own《Item Boxes》.

I"m borrowing mine from Master, so it"s not really mine anyway.
I"ll ask Fiona and the others about it.
Obviously, it"s best if every one of us has one.

「Alright. Let"s move on.」

They nod their heads and get on Zangetsu once again. We"re heading to Legias.
From their perspective, this must be pretty good progress.
I"m leading them onto the path to town, showing them the way to their new hunting ground and base.

Protagonist　Keith
Race　Human　Male　Racial Lv5
Job　Summoner Lv4（↑1）
Bonus Points Remaining 17

Skill Sets
Staff Lv4（↑1）Punch Lv2　Kick Lv2　Joint Lock Lv3　Throw Lv3
Evade Lv3　Block Lv2　Summon Magic Lv5（↑1）
Light Magic Lv2　Wind Magic Lv3　Earth Magic Lv2　Water Magic Lv3
Fire Magic Lv1　Dark Magic Lv1
Alchemy Lv3　Pharmacy Lv2　Gla.s.smaking Lv3
Cooperation Lv4　Appraise Lv4　Identify Lv4　Cold Resistance Lv2　Grab Lv3
Horsemanship Lv3　Precise Manipulation Lv3　Jump Lv1　Heat Resistance Lv3

Equipment　Kaya Wood Rod　Wild Rabbit Breastplate+ Series　Snow Ape Armguard
Wild Horse Boots+　Snow Ape Helmet　Rucksack
Item Box ×2

Items　Survival Knife

t.i.tles　Old Summoner"s Temporary Pupil, Livestock Protector

Monster Summons
Volff　Wolf Lv4
Zangetsu　Horse Lv3
Helix　Hawk Lv3
Obsidian　Owl Lv3

Companions
Adele & Mii-chan
Irina & Toggle