Translator: Eisen　Editor: Weasalopes

When I logged in, it was just after 5:30 AM.
My HP and MP are still fully recovered.
Good.
No problem as usual.
Maybe I"m too worried due to my recent death.

I will put on my equipment as usual
I notice a broken rod on top of a desk.
Should I take this with me as well?
Somehow, I feel that it might be useful for something.

No, it"s just my imagination.
Would it be okay to make that?
However, I have too few materials for that.
Well, well.
The equipment I have on me now should do just fine.

Well then.
I made up my mind.
Exploration is the priority, but I"d like to make one if I have the time.

Today my summons" lineup will be oriented towards movement at first, just like yesterday.
Zangetsu, Helix, Obsidian, and Volff.
Yesterday they seemed very vigilant about something.
Today they are behaving normally, though.
Master"s Magi Owl, who"s perched at the gate, is also behaving normally.
So, what was really going on yesterday?
It remains a mystery.

I headed off to Legias while picking up Obsidian Stones along the way.
Monsters are changing to their daytime behaviors, and there doesn"t seem to be any Ants around anymore.
As soon as I strayed off from the main road, I encountered a Stray Horse.

It all ended too quickly.

While Volff was keeping it in check, Obsidian and Helix delivered surprise attacks in succession.
Zangetsu rammed into the monster, overthrowing it.
I twisted the fallen Horse"s neck, breaking its bones and ending the battle.
Too quick.
I didn"t even use any spells.

I can feel I"m getting stronger.
What would happen if I were to fight a Rabid Horse with this lineup?
It might be hard, of course, but not as much as before.

I skinned the Stray Horse for its meat and hide.
【Disa.s.sembly】skill, way to go.
It might activate unexpectedly.

I arrived at the village of Legias.
It seemed to be too early, and the food at the stalls was still being prepared.
Yuka"s a.s.sistants are not here yet, either.
It"s quite a ch.o.r.e, isn"t it?
I don"t cook, so I wouldn"t understand.

「Good morning, Keith.」

「Good morning.」

Helga seems to be negotiating with a player at the stall.
Rick was behind the street stall, having just started sorting his inventory.
Our greeting is a simple one, and as I get on the table, I take out the Wild Horse Hide I obtained earlier.
For now, this is all I want to sell.
I"ll keep the meat for when I want to cook it.

「h.e.l.lo, everyone.」

Margrid had come just in time.
I"m glad.
If possible, I would like her to take a look at my ore.
I didn"t think I would be able to obtain this much of it.

「So, here"s your stuff. Please check they"re okay.」

The necklace she took out was without a doubt the same as the one she sent on her message.
By unclasping it, I could confirm that its chain is more than 20 inches long.
Uh-oh.
That"s over 50 centimeters, right?
It"s quite long.

「Let me explain a little.」
「Sure.」

The clasp is a simple thing that can be found anywhere, so it does its job.
The silver base on which this chain and the gemstones were inlaid was a structure that could be removed.
It seems that there has been some fine craftsmanship poured into that silver base.
Margrid removed the base from the chain before my eyes, and then showed me how to reattach it.
There were also some parts for regulating the chain"s length at its clasp.

「It might feel a little too long. But I came up with this length in preparation for the addition of other gemstones in the future.」

「Okay. And what about that other gemstone?」

「It"s the same as I"ve just shown you.」

I took out all of the gemstones I had on me and laid them on the desk.
There are two Iolites, and a Tsavorite.
In addition to that, there"s a Blue Spinel and a Morganite.
I took out a Magic Stone as well.

「I want a strong combination. What do you suggest?」

「Huh? Did you get more ore?」

「Just yesterday, yes.」

Without delay, she held the ore on her hand and started to use【Appraise】.
Her face seems as if she were struggling.

「It might take a bit longer, is that okay?」

「Sure.」

The explanation was certainly long.

To summarize what has been confirmed in the numerous explanations:
In order to help with symmetry, it is recommended that you place the best gemstone in the center.
That is, Tsavorite goes in the center.

The Blue Spinel and an Iolite should be arranged at its sides.
The Morganite is unnecessary on this occasion.
And the Blue Spinel should be resized to match the other gemstone, which was already cut and polished.
That"s the general gist of it.

There was still another important point.
Even if it is strengthened with multiple items, it seems that there will be no bonuses to M・AP unless it is specially processed.
For example, if equipping this necklace along as it is now along with the Kaya Wood Rod, the rod"s M・AP value will not be increased.
Apart from that, all other special effects that the necklace may bestow, like resistance to status effects, will be active even without any special processing.
Hmm.
I should probably remember that in regards to M・AP, only the piece of equipment with the highest value will have the priority when calculating bonuses.

「What are you going to do about this Blue Spinel? It might be a shame to cut it down so much just to make it much the Iolite.」

「If there"s an advantage to be gained from cutting it, then by all means.」

「Are you sure?」

「Yeah.」

Symmetry is essential, I can understand that much.
Then I will not hesitate.
The Magic Stone seems to manage just fine together with all the other added parts.
It seems to be enough, as there now were two more stones than what was originally intended.

「I can"t recommend the Morganite because it is unlikely that I can add its effects to the necklace.」

「It seems appropriate due to its Rarity.」

「Right. That seems to be the case.」

Should I sell it then?
Rick jumped into our conversation while still sorting his inventory.

「One of our guild members was hoping to strengthen his rod, so he"s waiting for his turn to talk to you. Is it okay if I ask you something, though?」

「Of course.」

「Well, I bought a piece of ore, and I wanted to know how much would it cost to process it.」

「All right.」

「Great!」

「Just a minute. I am also going to calculate those Wild Horse Hide」

Interrupting his inventory sorting, Rick did the calculations for me.
I"m glad that I had a Wild Horse Hide on me.
Just at the last moment!
I just held it out just for a moment, and he took it away
That was risky.
Compared to some time ago, the amount of money I have on me has decreased considerably.

I unfasten my armor for a moment and equip the silver necklace.
Let"s see if there are any conflicts with my armor, or if it gets in the way.
It seems to be okay.

In my hurry, the time has pa.s.sed.
Yuka is serving breakfast on the tables now.
I had my breakfast while chatting with Rick and the others.
For some reason, there was some raw meat served as breakfast too.
Yuck!
Yuka was feeding Volff.

It seems that the raw meat was meant for Helix and Obsidian.
Will they eat it?
I tried holding it up high, and it disappeared in no time.
I thought Summoned Monsters did not need to eat.
Well, it might be nice to feed them once in a while anyway.

I bought two servings of food from Yuka.
I plan to spend the night in the Area Portal today as well.
I decided to quickly leave as the amount of NPC customers increased.

Leaving the village of Legias, I head towards the Forest Maze.
As usual, our priority is movement.
But something"s not quite right again.
I can see that with the exception of Zangetsu, Volff and the rest became very tense.
Again, huh?

I sent Obsidian off to fly around and check the surroundings.
I dismounted Zangetsu and somehow managed to control Volff, who was now growling.
Is there something there?
No.
Something is definitely there.

It seems that Obsidian is hearing a certain faint sound that is making him feel uncomfortable.
5 o"clock.
Only from that direction, there is no such unnatural sound.
Volff and Obsidian are around that place, waiting for my signal to attack.
Well…
What should I do?

Obsidian went around that unusual place and positioned himself across from me.
I began to approach as I held my rod with one hand.
There"s only a clump of bushes in that direction.
But is there something in there?
A monster?
A PK?

「I"m sorry. I"m really sorry.」

A man came out of the bushes with both of his hands up
What kind of person is he?
I could see that his marker was grey.
An ordinary soldier?
Besides, he seems to be wearing light armor.
I"ll try to use【Identify】on him.

Lambda　Lv.7
Fighter　Alert

「I"m sorry, but could you please move aside a little?」

「Wait!」

「I"m sorry. I"m in a hurry.」

As soon as I said that, the man broke into a run at once.
Not towards me.
Is he trying to run past me?
Then he threw something he was holding in his hand.
He threw it at the bushes.

Obsidian flew in pursuit of the man.
But Obsidian"s attack was too late.
He ended up diving into the bushes instead.

Once again, a weird sound came from the bushes, and then another man came out of them.　But this other man seemed to be completely different.

Huh?

It wasn"t until I used【Identify】on him a second time.
That man had attacked me.

《PK Player confirmed. Combat allowed.》

His marker was flashing between green and grey.
During that time,【Discern】also seems to have worked.

Sasame　Lv.8
Bandit　In Battle　Counterattack Allowed

I have no time to select a spell to use.
I attack him with my rod.
My opponent also seems fl.u.s.tered.
He was not holding his rather short spear properly.

I attack his wrists with my rod in an attempt to disarm him.
As expected, there was a response.
The man dropped his spear and became seemingly more fl.u.s.tered.
I can see he"s hesitating.
Should I fight or run away?

But it was too late.
Obsidian had already swooped down on his neck.
Helix too, at the same time.
And Volff, too.

Though that series of consecutive attacks did not become fatal, it created a huge opening.
Zangetsu took aim and, using her rear legs, delivered a direct hit.
The man"s HP Bar shattered.

The other man from before came back rushing.
No, there"s one more.
Are they in league with each other?

Taro　Lv.8
Black Sorcerer　In Battle　Counterattack Allowed

So this guy is another PK?
However, this guy"s HP Bar soon disappeared as well.
I saw a knife stuck in his chest.

「Gawooo!」

Volff"s howl was unusually loud.
He kept on pulling me from the sleeve.
Something flew through the s.p.a.ce my head had been just a moment ago.
I fear it might have been an arrow.
c.r.a.p.
There are still more of them?

「It"s dangerous go straight ahead! It"s a trap!」

The man called Lambda yelled that at me and rushed to the right side.
In that case.
I"ll go left.
I had Obsidian take the lead and scout the way ahead.
They should be somewhere around here.

There"s a shadow.
Found him!

At the same time, I could see a spear flying towards us.
Volff easily parried the attack, and quickly counterattacked.
The man pulled a knife to replace his lost spear, but Volff was faster.
The man"s throat was ripped out, and he died on the spot.

Obsidian had found one more.
Helix was also flying through the forest, although with some trouble.
Zangetsu approached me as if protecting me.

Then, Zangetsu was. .h.i.t directly with an arrow.
To be more precise, it had only hit her saddle.
To be even more precise, the arrow was meant for me.

Volff dashed towards the arrow"s origin.
I immediately followed suit.
We found an archer hidden behind a tree"s roots.

「Forest Walk!」

I was finally able to cast a spell.
The effects of spells make it faster to travel through the woods.
As the archer is trying to escape from Volff, I try to seize him.
He somehowly managed to get out of the way to the side.
He drew a pair of arrows into his bow and took aim at Volff.
I threw my rod at him.
It didn"t deal that much damage to the archer.
But it managed to distract him.

Volff approached the archer"s feet and bit one of his ankles.
I can only commend him for enduring the urge of letting out a scream in pain.
However, he"s now unable to run away as Volff still has his jaw locked onto his ankle.
I approach the man.
Will he have the time to try to fire an arrow at me?
The moment he drew his bow, Helix swooped down on him.
He managed to shoot, but his arrows flew off into the distance.

I took the man by the armpit.
I seized his right elbow and tightened my grasp on his armpit.
He still did not raise his voice.
I half-rotated my body and performed a seoi nage, which is a shoulder throw technique used in judo.
Without releasing his arm, I continued to apply pressure to his joints.

The sound of his bones breaking vibrated all the way through his arm.
I saw a knife on the man"s free hand, but I didn"t feel threatened.
Volff was already biting at his wrist.

I then aim for his right foot.
I envelop his heel with my armpit and perform a heel hold.
I then twisted my body, destroying both his heel and hip bone.

Still, there was no voice to be heard.
It"s quite admirable.
No, he must have manipulated his pain settings to his advantage.

He moved as if he was going to bite his own tongue, so I struck the back of his ear with my fist.
Then I held his head up and hit his chin with my palm.
I feel it breaking.
He should be totally powerless by now, right?

Then, another one. A shadow rushed at me.
He was brandishing his sword over his head.
However, that man collapsed on the spot.
There was a knife stuck to his back.
Can I still use【Identify】on him?

Baird　Lv.8
Thief　Dead　Counterattack Allowed

It seems that there were a lot of these PK guys out there.
There were 5 people in total.
Though I haven"t used【Identify】on one of them.
Right, let"s try to use【Identify】now.

Jacob　Lv.8
a.s.sa.s.sin　In Battle　Counterattack Allowed

This guy has still about half of his HP left.
He"s wounded all over his body but seems to be smiling slightly.
This guy.
Should I finish him off?

「Just as I expected.」

It"s the man named Lambda from a while ago.
This man slaughtered two people using nothing but knives.
His equipment doesn"t look that great.
Just who the h.e.l.l is he?

「Who are you?」

「You"ll understand if you see.」

He then grabbed the smiling a.s.sa.s.sin"s hand.

「Aaaargh!」

「Shut up!」

That closed the a.s.sasin"s mouth.
He struggled for a short while, but he soon settled.

「Gaah! Why?」

「Are you getting used to pain?」

「You b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! I"ll remember your faces! You"ll regret this!」

「How cliched. But that"s fine. I can disguise myself as much as I need to. And I won"t let you lay a finger on this person.」

「Don"t make fun of me!」

「What are you going to do about it?」

Lambda stepped on the a.s.sasin"s broken arm.
The a.s.sasin seems to be trying desperately not to scream.
His face is completely pale.
Cold sweat was running through his face.
Nice torture.

「How did you change my pain settings… Gaaah!」

「Even if I told you, your pain won"t change.」

He then proceeded to kick his head.
Wait.
Don"t kill him.
I was wondering if I could hear what he had to say.

「Um, could you stop for a moment?」

「You sure? But he"s a PK and he was targeting you,」

「No, I won"t get another chance of speaking with this PK, will I?」

I selected a spell and cast it.

「Dark Heal!」

「Huh?」

I applied a healing spell on the a.s.sasin.
The a.s.sa.s.sin"s HP Bar went up to 40 percent.
As the a.s.sa.s.sin stood up, I kicked his crotch, and while he was about to faint in agony, I applied pressure on his left elbow.
Just like that, it breaks.
Since he was about to shout, I punched him in the jaw, and it was lights out for him.
His HP Bar has gone down to about 20 percent.
Is this enough?

「Can you still talk?」

「… Shut up.」

He seems okay.
Well, just to make sure, let"s use this once again.

「Dark Heal!」

This time, his HP Bar seems to have gone up to 50 percent.
That"s pretty good.
Since this spell uses this guy"s MP instead of mine, it"s easy.
I tried stomping on his right knee.
He didn"t shout but seemed to be in tremendous pain.

「Don"t say that. I just want to have a little chat.」

「Give me a break!」

「As long as you"re healthy…」

I throw a swift punch behind his ear.
The a.s.sasin"s body trembled.
You might want to scream louder, but if you do, it will make it worse for you.
That"s why I"m doing this.

「It"s nice that I have a question, right? What is so fun about targeting players?」

「Huuh?」

「This will require some discipline, won"t it?」

I took out an Enraged Crane Beak out of the《Item Box》.
I thrust it in one of his nostrils.
Naturally, I was holding his head as well.

Of course, he struggled.
With that alone, his HP Bar went back to 20 percent.
I"ll heal him again with Dark Heal.
This a.s.sa.s.sin"s MP Bar still has more than half left anyway.

「Hey, can you answer my question?」

I try challenging him by asking him nicely.
This is far from extortion!
This is a request.
This is a request until the end.

「He must have decided to do it just because it"s fun.」

「Is that so?」

I tried asking Lambda, who was not moving at all.

「Well… I don"t know. Maybe it"s because he"s just a guy who enjoys treading on others?」

「So that"s what it is, huh?」

No, no.
Both you and I have been treading on this a.s.sa.s.sin just a few moments ago, didn"t we?

「Is that what this is?」

I also tried asking the a.s.sasin.

「This guy doesn"t seem to understand.」

He understood he was being toyed with, though.
Let"s use Dark Heal twice to recover his health.

I take out a chisel and a hammer from the《Item Box》.
Then I had Zangetsu step on his left palm.
Placing the chisel on the base of one of his nails, I swing the hammer down.
The sound of the chisel being hit by the hammer echoed in the surroundings.

「No, I"m sure he understands. He just can"t accept it.」

I kept hitting the chisel with the hammer.
It seems that bones are being broken several times, but I don"t mind.
Because he has more fingers left.

Along the way, the a.s.sa.s.sin let out a scream.
He even started to cry.
Something like a beg for forgiveness could be faintly heard.
It"s weird, given how strong he seemed to be a few moments ago.

For now, I finished crushing his five fingertips.
The a.s.sa.s.sin can"t manage to do anything else than sobbing.
His HP Bar has about 30 percent left.
His MP Bar has more than 30 percent left, though.

「I"ll stop! I won"t kill you! Forgive me! Please!」

「Listen. I want to know why you can agree with this whole PK business.」

「F… forgive meee.」

He bursted into tears.
Or should I say, he was about to lose his mind.
He seems to be broken already.

「Is there a reason why you"re doing this?」

「There was but I"m through with it.」

Why?
That sounds extremely farfetched.

「So, next. There"s a reason, right? You guys get something out of it, don"t you?

「K… Kill me!」

「Too bad. That"s not an answer.」

I was very disappointed.
Oh well.
Just in case, let"s confirm with Lambda.
Maybe this guy was his prey.
I will try to confirm his intention by looking him in the eye.

「If you get targeted by a PK, you won"t become Corrupt even if you kill them, no matter how you do it.」

「Is that so?」

「I can finish him off, so…」

「Really? Is that like a special rule?」

「Of course, it"s a special rule.」

With that, the a.s.sa.s.sin seems to have regained his energy.

「You b.a.s.t.a.r.ds！You"re PK Killers! Remember! You might disguise yourselves, but I will definitely find you!」

Lambda kicked him in the crotch.
The a.s.sa.s.sin let out a sob and fell to the ground.
Nice reaction!

「Of course, challenge accepted. I know we"ll get along just fine while killing each other.」

He had a grin on his face.
In fact, it was a very refreshing smiling face.
He was holding a knife in his hand.

「Is it okay?」

「Yeah.」

Even though Lambda didn"t tell me what he wished for, I knew.
He can do the honors.

「Well, you can think about it through while you"re done resp.a.w.ning.」

Lambda pushed his knife against the a.s.sa.s.sin"s throat.
With a crunching sound, the blade was plunged into his throat.

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　Lava Magic Lv2　Steam 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 Lv2
Physical Reinforcement Lv2　Mental Reinforcement Lv4　Speedcasting Lv4

Equipment　Kaya Wood Rod x 1　Kaya Wood Tonfa x 2　Snow Leopard Push Dagger x 3
Kaya Wood Rod x 1 (Broken)　Silver Necklace +
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

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 Lv2