Translator: Eisen　Editor: Weasalopes

I"ve got some spare time.
I"m already tired of going through the forums while idling about.
I"m still able to use external links to view some news from the real world, though.

But they have become uninteresting.
There is no problem picking up news with a purpose.
But I feel depressed just by looking at them.
It"s tough having the will to face reality.

I"ve been just sitting while watching Bunraku move around.
Ah, free time.
I would like to chat with someone via Telepathy.
That doesn"t happen often, now.

《Your friend has sent you a message.》

Oh?
I"ve got something to kill time with now?
Who is it from? As I thought, it was from Margrid.
Speaking of which, I had ordered a necklace, but the delivery date was two days, wasn"t it?
That"s not today.

『The requested item is ready. I will be in Legias for a while. You can certainly find me there in the morning. You can pick it up from the stall in Legias.』

Attached to the message was a screenshot of the necklace and its【Appraise】results.

【Equipment: Necklace】Silver Necklace　Grade C+　Rarity 3
M・AP+5　Weight 1　Durability 120
A necklace made with a silver ball chain. It is quite durable for being made out of silver.
Reinforced with magic.

【Material】Blue Spinel+　Grade C　Rarity 3　Weight 0+
A translucent mineral that is crystallized in octahedra.
It has been shaped into an octahedron and inlaid to a silver base.
[Custom] The amulet pattern『Grid』has been engraved into the silver base.

Is it a necklace or a pendant?
Well, it"s fine to call it either way.
I can see how the ball chain looks like by looking at the screenshot.
It"s a chain made of little silver spheres strung together.
Is it really that durable?

Also, there was a picture of the silver base with the inlaid Blue Spinel.
It was shining so beautifully that it could not be compared to the raw stone.
Although, since I"d wear it under my leather armor, I guess how beautiful it is doesn"t really matter that much.

【Equipment: Necklace】Silver Necklace +　Grade C+　Rarity 3
M・AP+8　Weight 1　Durability 120
A necklace made with a silver ball chain. Its silver chain is quite durable.
Reinforced with magic.
[Custom] Empowered by a Blue Spinel fitted into a silver base and attached to this necklace.
※Slightly increases resistance to abnormal status effects.

Combine the two items, and presto.
Its stats are good, but more importantly, it offers a bonus to resistance to status effects.
I wanted to get it fast!
Most of the time, the things I usually order are normally never on time.

Uh-oh.
How am I supposed to go pick it up?
Even having this little amount of ability left is more than enough reason to cut this expedition short anyway.
So tomorrow it is.

Then it would be better to return to Legias today.
However, my last login was at the Wind Spirit Village, so if I used Return Home, I would be teleporting here.
If I were to return to Legias as my penalties wear off, I might end up biting more than I can chew.
Well, that"s ok.
There"s plenty of time.

Oh.
Let"s reply first.
Of course, sending a message is a pain.
Let"s just use Telepathy.
When I cast the spell, I designate Margrid as the whisper target.

『Margrid, are you free now?』

『Oh? Huh?』

『I"m sorry. This is Keith.』

『Huh?』

『I"m using Telepathy, a s.p.a.cetime Magic spell. I"m sorry if this is too sudden.』

『Huh? Oh, so that"s what this is? It took me by surprise』

It seems it was too sudden after all.
Sorry.
I don"t want to come across as rude.

『I will be in Legias by tomorrow.』

『Roger. Since two of the Magic Stones were not needed, I will be returning them to you as well.』

『No, I would like to ask you for something else.』

『Huh?』

While continuing our conversation, I took some gemstones out and took screenshots of them.　I also made a hard copy of their【Appraise】results.
Then I sent them on a separate message to Margrid.

『Two Iolites and a Tsavorite, huh?』

『What do you think?』

『By adding them to a necklace, I think it can gain extra abilities, but its overall performance will decrease. Are you okay with that?』

『Is that so?』

『Yes. It"s just my Master"s opinion, though.』

After that listening carefully it, it seems that just adding several gemstones to a single necklace may cause problems when it comes to its resulting magic effects.
Symmetry.
It is said that if symmetry is lost, performance may be hampered.
Ideally, the gemstone that bestows the most powerful effects would go in the middle.
In order to maintain symmetry, any gems that go to each side should be as equal in quality as possible.
According to Margrid, either Blue Spinel or Tsavorite is fine, but one more stone is needed.

『I wonder if a Blue Spinel would be ideal? I think that a Tsavorite would be good in the center, though.』

『Huh?』

That must be the gemstone I found on the riverside north or Remut.
No, I have been so busy exploring that I haven"t been using the Earth Spell Dowsing around here.
I might be able to find better gemstones somewhere.

『Thank you very much for the information. Let"s continue this conversation tomorrow when we meet.』

『Roger. Anyway-』

Huh?
What happened? Did we get cut off?

『This Telepathy spell is very useful, isn"t it?』

『It has been tremendously helpful.』

『Right? It looks like it is.』

Ugh.
It"s as if I"ve been watched through something.
Scary!

『The spell"s effect is about to wear off, so we"ll have to leave it here.』

『Roger. See you tomorrow.』

『See you.』

Weird.
I could swear she was giggling.
It seems that more and more players are just out of their minds.
What"s more, there"s a lot of women.
Am I under some sort of curse or something?

Most of the area around the abandoned house where I"m staying seems to have been already been put in order by Bunraku.
It looks somewhat better now.
I recalled Bunraku as well.
I have a feeling that having a Summoned Monster out will delay my recovery from the penalty.　I don"t really have any proof that"s the case, though.
It"s simply what I wanted to believe.

An understandable change has ocurred in the village.
I could see many green markers before my eyes.
Other players were coming.
It seems that there is a good number of people.
The players in the village seem to be taking off their helmets and relaxing.

Oh?
There are some familiar faces.

The first party to come in consisted of six people.
Leading that party was Yosaku.
He"s that Woodworker who I fought against in the tournament.
There"s one more party member I recognized.
Fey the Gla.s.sworker.
I don"t know who the other four party members are.

The next party to enter the village seemed to be in alert despite being in a safe zone and didn"t remove their helmets.
I couldn"t see their faces, but they were wearing considerably heavy armor.
Are they a Guide Team?

The party that came in after that was one I knew well.
Adele and Irina.
Since I could only see 4 Summoned monsters, did they come as a party without forming a union?
I was wrong.
Two Hawks flew down and perched on my shoulders.

Hey, hey! They"re too close!
As I move my left hand, one of the Hawks flew off.
There is no doubt that the other one is Irina"s Sky Eye.
I can tell even without using【Discern】.
The other one must be Adele"s newly summoned Hawk.
He"s a bit careless for our first meeting, but it"s okay.

After that, one more party arrived.
It was Fiona and the others.
Reina, Mio, and Shinohara are there along with Saki.
That"s a Production party that always looks good.

「Hey!」

「Oh! So this is where you"ve been!」

Mio and Adele are as energetic as ever.
That"s not the case for me, having died and resp.a.w.ned and all.

I greeted all the players, but there were so many of them I was meeting for the first time, and there was no way that I could not remember their names.
Well, the important thing is to remember naturally.
I guess you can forget things naturally, no matter what you do.
That"s just the way it is.

The party Yosaku and Fey were members of was entirely made of Production job members.
Apparently, the party was formed for a special occasion.
Fiona"s Player Guild seems to not have any a.s.signed jobs, but the feature of this party is its variety.
Fey is a Gla.s.s worker, which is a job that players rarely choose.
There was also a Stonemason dwarf.
Together with the Woodworker Yosaku, these three are at the front lines.
The rear was scattered with Alchemists, Farmers, and Pharmacists.

And the party whose members everyone was meeting for the first time was the Guide Team party, of course.
They seem like the type of party members that frequently exchange information in the forums.　As expected, I could see that they were fully equipped.
Two of them seem to have recognized me from the tournament preliminary rounds.

「Huh? Where are your Summoned Monsters, Keith?」

「They are resting now. I"ve just died and resp.a.w.ned here.」

「Huh?」

The one to first respond to my words was Yosaku.
Huh?
Almost everyone seems to be looking at me.
Yosaku raised his voice.

「What happened!?」

「I was trying to hunt a Bear in a neighboring Map. A b.u.t.terfly paralyzed me and then killed me in one blow.」

「Whoa!」

This is really awkward.

Well, we got to talk about many things, including details of my death.
Save for three Cooks who were preraring lunch, we were all exchanging trivial information.
I was shocked to learn that four Area Portals have been already opened.
However, I already knew that the Area Portal of the S1W1 Map was open.

「A Summoner who can use Return Home, and is currently by himself.」

Those were Fiona"s words.
Apparently, Goody has been posting in the forums.
Oh.
I hope there is no real harm.

The reason why Fiona and the others came in such great numbers was to see if they could set up a base here.
It seems that the Guide Team was escorting the Production Team here in exchange for their support.
It looks like they have already fought against Raptors and Cranes many times before reaching the Wind Spirit Village.

Escort, huh?
Do they need that having Yosaku with them?
That"s what I thought but said nothing about it.

I also gave a brief lecture on the situation of each Map.
I have a feeling that it was surprisingly short, but that was it.

「So monsters don"t come around this village at night, right?」

「Right」

The Production Team members were enjoying themselves for some reason.

「This is definitely convenient for us players! Was this really intended by the GMs?」

「But this may cause an economic problem. Players can come and go as they see fit, after all.」

「Things are different in a ruined fishing village we found to the east. One does not simply go there and back again freely by boat」

「What about detouring to the north or south?」

「According to Keith"s report, the north is plagued by high mountains, and there is a volcanic area to the south, right?」

「Of course, the Forest Maze is a bottleneck, isn"t it?」

「But there is so much land that can be used for fields and pastures.」

「Wait, wait.」

The conversation was getting hotter but also spiraling out of control.

「All right now. Stop!」

Fiona"s words were final.
Everyone fell silent in an instant.

「Don"t forget our original plan, okay? First of all, we need to set up a base that is easy to make for the time being. All right?」

Everyone in the Production Team nodded silently.

「Members of the Guide Team, I ask you that you explore the area to the south. By no means are you to set foot into any neighboring Maps, all right?」

Fiona used the word『ask』with the Guide Team, but to me, it didn"t sound as if she was『asking』them.

「Roger.」

「Si！」 1

「Understood.」

The Guide Team looks fearless.
However, they seem to be mysteriously under Fiona"s command.
You can"t beat her ability to ama.s.s clothing, food, and housing.

「What are you going to do, Keith?」

「I"m going back to Legias. I need to pick up an item I have commissioned.」

「Oh? Now that you mentioned, I"m done with today"s planning.」

With the exception of Fiona and the others, the rest of the members seem to have anxious look on their faces.
Why is that?

「Well, I wanted to see Keith"s fighting style.」

Yosaku.
Me too.
I"m very interested in how your battles will unfold.

「Lunch is ready!」

Apart from me, Mio"s voice made everyone"s attention to turn towards lunch.
It was just bad timing.
I have already eaten.

「What about you, Keith?」

「I just finished up my lunch a while ago, so don"t mind me.」

Irina called out to me, but I had no choice but to refuse.
I"m already full.

Lunchtime was over.
Yosaku"s initial party changed its lineup and headed north.
A Farmer and a Stonemason left the party, then Saki and Shinohara joined them in their stead.

Then the Guide Team headed south.
The remaining Production Team members are most likely going to take a look around the village.

「First of all, there are some materials to be found in this village. We might be able to repair some of the buildings here.」

The Stonemasons began moving around the village, searching for materials.
Will they be setting up their base here?
It might be reasonable to say that"s the case.
As previously discussed, there might be some issues.

How is my recovery from the Death Penalty going?
Let"s check my stats.

Stats
DEX　16（-3）
AGI　16（-3）
INT　20（-4）
STR　16（-3）
VIT　15（-3）
SPI　20（-4）

I feel like I have recovered considerably.
So just as I thought, recalling my Summon Monsters was the right choice after all.
My HP and MP are regenerating at a good pace, and I"m close to being completely recovered.
Well then.
Should I hurry towards the Forest Maze as well?
If I have some time left, I can go to Master"s house later and continue making Potions.

「Well, I"ll be back soon.」

「Huh? Have you recovered from your stats penalties?」

「If I can go, I want to hurry.」

That"s a lie.
The truth is that I died because I was unprepared, and now I don"t want to be seen in this sorry state.
I"m really depressed.

「Oh, that"s right. Pa.s.s this on.」

I had remembered about the Ant"s Nectar.
If an item turns out to be food, I should pa.s.s it along, right?
Mio"s eyes opened wide.
This girl always has such a reaction to foodstuffs.

「Are you sure?」

I replied immediately by reflex.

「Yeah.」

「No way. Let me pay you for it.」

Having said that, Fiona finished her calculations with ease.
It"s just by a little, but my money has increased.

「There may be more items you wanted to sell, but…」

「I"m sorry! Of course, you can"t be purchasing or trading here.」

Yup.
Certainly.
I heard that Rick and the others are in Legias, so let"s stop by on the way there.

Well then.
I summoned Volff, Zangetsu, Helix, and Rig.
This lineup should be good for movement and attacking.

「Wow! Four summons at the same time!」

「Really? Well, what"s your Summon Magic level, Keith?」

「Yeah, I"ve just got it to Lv.10」

The conversation suddenly stopped there.
Is something wrong?

「That"s very fast, isn"t it?」

I understand Fiona"s doubts.
But still.
I"ve fought well over a hundred monsters so far, just so I could survive.
It just so happened to get to that level.
It"s not as if I"m trying to level up as fast as I can.

「I wonder if there are many opportunities to encounter a large number of monsters.」

「Huh?」

Speaking about this, Fiona presented her theory.
Is there anything like a Monster House?

So, what is a Monster House?

「I think it"s when you are in a situation where you can gather around many monsters to take them all on quickly.」

I was no longer amazed.
I think I wasn"t that ashamed, but there"s nothing left to do about it now.
In short.
The first person to set foot in a Map or in a Maze has a high chance to be targeted by a large number of monsters.
I should at least remember this much.
I thanked Fiona before finally leaving.
It goes without saying that during that short period of time, Adele had been petting Volff and Zangetsu.

Before leaving the village"s safe area, I cast all four Physical Enchant spells, and the two Mental Enchant spells as well.
I"ve still got enough MP.
I should use those spells if they help make up for the Death Penalty"s effect.
This is how it looks after raising each stat with the Enchant spells.

Stats
DEX　16（-1）
AGI　16（-1）
INT　20（-1）
STR　16（-1）
VIT　15（-1）
SPI　20（-1）

Well, I suppose I can fight like this.
Today, I just want to return to Master"s house early and turn over a new leaf.
I continued towards the east as if I was running away.

Protagonist　Keith
Race　Human　Male　Racial Lv10
Job　Summoner Lv9
Bonus Points Remaining 8

Skill Sets
Staff Lv8　Punch Lv5　Kick Lv5　Joint Lock Lv5　Throw Lv4　Evade Lv5　Block Lv4　Summon Magic Lv10　s.p.a.cetime Magic Lv2
Light Magic Lv5　Wind Magic Lv5　Earth Magic Lv5　Water Magic Lv5
Fire Magic Lv4　Dark Magic Lv5　Ice Magic Lv3　Lightning Magic Lv3
Tree Magic Lv3　Dust Magic Lv2　Melting Magic Lv2　Miracle Magic Lv2
Alchemy Lv5　Pharmacy Lv4　Gla.s.smaking Lv3　Woodworking Lv4
Cooperation Lv7　Appraise Lv6　Identify Lv7　Discern Lv2　Cold Resistance Lv3
Grab Lv6　Horsemanship Lv6　Precise Manipulation Lv7　Jump Lv3
Heat Resistant Lv4　Climb Lv3　Dual Wield Lv4　Disa.s.sembly Lv1
Physical Reinforcement Lv2　Mental Reinforcement Lv4　Speedcasting Lv4

Equipment　Kaya Wood Rod x 1　Kaya Wood Tonfa x 2　Snow Leopard Push Knife x 3
Wild Horse Leather Armor +　Snow Ape Armguard　Wild Horse Boots +
Snow Ape Leather Helmet　Rampage Belt +　Rucksack　Item Box x 2

Items:
Survival Knife, Woodworking Tools

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

Stats
DEX　16（-1）
AGI　16（-1）
INT　20（-1）
STR　16（-1）
VIT　15（-1）
SPI　20（-1）

Monster Summons:
Volff　Wolf Lv7
Zangetsu　Horse Lv5
Helix　Hawk Lv5
Obsidian　Owl Lv5
Jean　Bat Lv5
Jericho　Wood Golem Lv3
Goki　Demon Lv4
Senki　Beast Ape Lv4
Rig　Slime Lv3
Bunraku　Wood Puppet Lv1

TL Note: This character does answer in Spanish in the original version. ↩