Chapter Six: There Are Many Kinds of Players Out There
Chapter Six: There Are Many Kinds of Players Out There
Another day, another quest. Once again, I found myself at the Magical Beasts Guild, ready to raise my rank.
“Huh? Squirrels again?”
Today’s requirement was the same as the day before: deliver three Gray Squirrels to the guild. I was wondering why it hadn’t changed, when the receptionist informed me that the monster of the day was chosen at random from the six types of monsters available in the vicinity of the Town of Beginnings, so you sometimes got the same creature twice in a row.
“All right! Looks like luck’s on our side!”
Gray Squirrels were much easier to catch than Snakes or Wild Dogs. This had to be a sign from the gaming gods to rack up my contribution points while I could. As taming Gray Squirrels was our top priority, I had chosen the Western Forest as our hunting grounds—the place where you were most likely to encounter them. My goal today was to fulfill the Magical Beasts Guild’s persistent quest at least three times.
We spent half a day going back and forth between the forest and the guild. In that time, we managed to complete the persistent quest four times, as well as raise our skill levels significantly. We all saw an increase in our base levels too. Although I’d considered taming the unique Fanged Rat specimen we encountered on the way, I was short on MP and had no choice but to defeat it. It was unfortunate that I’d run into it when I was running low on gas. In the end, I only had enough MP for five Tames. While I did manage to acquire a Giant Fang, one of the Fanged Rat’s rare drops, I would have loved to tame a unique specimen as well. Even if it was the weakest monster in the game, a unique specimen would most likely have had an interesting skill that others lacked. Pity.
Things worked out in the end, however, as I managed to my surprise to fulfill the unique drop delivery quest in the process. I also realized that I was one item away from fulfilling a Rock Ant rare drop delivery quest with the three vials of formic acid I currently possessed. I would be a fool not to grab this opportunity, as rare drop delivery quests granted more points.
“There’s only one place to go if we’re talking about Rock Ants.”
Underground passage, here we come! As far as I knew, Rock Ants were the only monsters to spawn in that area. We swiftly headed to our next destination, where I noticed a handful of players coming and going on the bridge above the entrance to the tunnel. Although it was already after dark, the town was still lively at this hour. I crouched in the shadows by the bridge and waited for the pedestrians to disappear. Thinking back on this later, I realized I had absolutely no reason to be so furtive. I had already sold information about the door to the Quick-Eared Cats, so this place was no longer totally unknown. At that time, though, I still couldn’t help but sneak around out of habit.
“Is the coast clear, Olto?”
“Mm!”
Olto, who was on the right side of the bridge, checked to make sure no one was coming our way, then raised his right arm. His Night Vision gave him a clear view of the streets.
“How about your side, Rick?”
“Chirp chirp!”
Rick, who had been in charge of the left end, stretched his right paw out as far as it could go. Right meant all clear, left meant wait. Although he didn’t possess Night Vision, his Vigilance skill was more than reliable.
“All right, let’s go. You two can come back now.”
I hurriedly waded into the canal and ducked under the bridge.
“Phew... No one saw us, did they?”
“Mm-mm!”
“Chirp chirp!”
We stopped by the altar just in case, but since it wasn’t Tree Day, we obviously didn’t see the dryad there. As it was Bear Bear and Olto’s first time here, however, they showed a keen interest in the raised platform.
“Mmm?”
“Growl?”
Hey, quit touching it so much. It’s disrespectful. D’ah! Rick! Climbing it is definitely off-limits!
“Th-That’s enough!” I admonished my companions. “We’re heading downstairs!”
I felt like I might go crazy from worry if I allowed them to run amok any longer. Besides, our main destination today was the underground passage. We couldn’t afford to waste time here. After rounding everyone up, we slowly made our way to the tunnel.
“Careful, there are monsters down here. I’m counting on you guys.”
“Mm!”
“Chirp!”
“Growl!”
“...!”
Olto pumped his right fist into the air, and the others immediately followed suit. Where did they learn how to do that, anyway? Not that it mattered—it was adorable, and that was enough for me. I didn’t have much time to revel in the fuzzy feelings from my companions, however, as we were soon joined by enemy monsters. Like before, they were mostly Rock Ants. Thankfully, my tamed monsters were strong enough now to deal damage to them, so it looked like I’d be able to conserve my MP.
“Growl growl!”
“...!”
“Chirp!”
Bear Bear dealt a swift uppercut to a Rock Ant and flipped it on its side, Sakura then promptly binding it with her vines. Rick then pounced on it and dealt another blow. Everyone then ganged up on the creature and beat it to a pulp. If it was just one monster, it was nice that we could now defeat them without sustaining any damage. We had come a long way since the old days. Even up against multiple opponents, though, I remained unscathed due to Olto’s protection. It was endearing to see Olto’s normally cute expression turn serious when he was protecting me. Was this what people meant by gap moe? Seriously, my tamed monsters were always full of charming new surprises. They were simply too cute for words!
“Hey, we already got some formic acid. Lucky us.”
After a mere thirty minutes of battling Rock Ants underground, we managed to obtain what we were after. If we returned now, we’d be able to deliver the items before the day ended. Perhaps I could explore a bit farther, though, seeing as I still had half of my MP left. However, our happiness was short-lived, as we stumbled upon an unexpected foe. Why were they here?
“Yikes, Lesser Ghosts?”
How could I possibly forget those translucent beings that had nearly killed me? Considering that we hadn’t encountered them up until now, their spawn rates were likely on the low side. Thank goodness we had run into them on our way home and not earlier; it would’ve been a huge pain in the butt to deal with them while searching for Rock Ants. Though there were few enough of them that we were able to defeat them easily, I was still eager to get out of here as soon as possible. I definitely didn’t want to encounter more ghosts when I was out of MP. While I’d been hoping to rely on Olto’s Luck to find another red panther cap mutation, it was probably best to head home while we could. However, just before we reached the exit, I heard a faint voice from somewhere nearby.
“Are those players?”
Apparently, we hadn’t been the only ones battling Lesser Ghosts.
“Damn it! Why can’t I deal any damage?!”
“Because they’re ghosts, dummy!”
“D’ah! I knew I should’ve learned some magic!”
Two boys were swinging around a sword and spear, locked in a furious battle with a lone Lesser Ghost—or rather, suffering its incessant attacks. Neither of them appeared to know any magic, and their weapons didn’t have special attributes either. A quick once-over of their equipment told me that they were still using their initial gear. It was obvious that they were beginners who were just starting out.
“Hmm, they’re gonna end up respawning at this rate. Better give them a hand.”
I was always being saved by other people, after all. This was my first time actually helping someone out. Let’s see, what was I supposed to do first? Send a rescue request? Crap. I had never done this before, so I wasn’t quite sure what to do.
“Damn it!” one of the boys yelled.
“Hang in there!” I replied, flustered. I had to hurry up or the boys were doomed! Where was it... Ah, there it was! I finally figured out how to pull up a rescue request and approached the boys, showing them my screen.
“Huh? What’s this?”
“What is it?”
“Something about a rescue request...”
Apparently, they couldn’t see my screen from their side since I was in the dark. They didn’t seem to know anything about rescue requests either. Stepping out of the darkness, I called out to them.
“Hey! Just accept my request!”
“Huh? What?”
“Y-Yo, it looks like he’s going to help us! Hurry up and accept whatever that thing is!”
“O-Okay.”
Phew, took them long enough.
“Aqua Ball!”
Lesser Ghosts didn’t have much HP to begin with, which meant you had a one hundred percent chance of defeating them as long as you used magic. My Aqua Ball completely obliterated the ghost. Once they realized the danger had passed, the boys sank to the ground.
“I thought I was gonna die.”
“Don’t think I can ever visit haunted places in real life again.”
Judging from their deathly pallor, the boys were beyond terrified. Their reaction was understandable—Lesser Ghosts were fairly realistic compared to other monsters.
“You guys okay?” I asked them.
“Th-Thank you! We owe you one!”
“You saved us!”
Alerted by my presence, the boys sprang to their feet and began bowing profusely. It was refreshing to see a bunch of youngsters who had proper manners.
“My name’s Tsuyoshi!” the swordfighter with short red hair introduced himself.
“I’m Takayuki,” the boy with a blue middle part and spear replied. While I wasn’t a fan of the edgy sort of names young kids usually liked to give themselves, traditional Japanese names also felt a little off in-game. Not that I intended on saying that to their faces, though. I was an adult, after all.
“I wouldn’t recommend this place unless you’re a magic-user,” I told them.
“You’re right. We’ve learned our lesson,” Takayuki said with a sigh.
“Guess we should’ve been grinding in the Eastern Plains like the beginner’s thread suggested,” Tsuyoshi muttered.
I knew it: they were beginners. It had been a few days since the game had launched, though. Why had they chosen to start playing only now? Curious, I asked them about it, and learned that they’d gotten off to a late start since they’d done poorly on exams and had to take a makeup class.
“Tsuyoshi failed his test, and I caught a cold on the day of our exam,” Takayuki explained.
“I totally thought I’d pass, though.”
It’d been years since I last sat for an exam. Oh, to be young again.
“What are you guys doing here anyway?” I asked them. “It’s supposed to be a dead end up ahead.”
“Really? But I heard there was an altar.”
“Did the information broker trick us?”
“Information broker? You talking about the Quick-Eared Cats?”
“Yep. We happened to come across this key by chance,” Takayuki said, showing me a key exactly like the one I had—the one that unlocked the hidden door. Neither of them had ever worked a part-time job in real life, so they had taken on a labor quest in LJO to get a feel of what working was like, which was how they had obtained their key. Looking up ways to use it had led them to the Quick-Eared Cats, whom they then bought information about the altar from.
“We couldn’t wait until the next Tree Day, so we came down to have a look,” Tsuyoshi said sheepishly.
“We were told that monsters only appeared in the passage opposite the altar, though...” Takayuki mumbled. They had apparently come the wrong way.
“Didn’t they tell us to go right when we reached that fork in the road?”
“Huh? Did they? I thought they told us to go left.”
“Hmm, now that you mention it, they might’ve...”
Clearly, they hadn’t spent enough time memorizing the directions.
“Anyway, magic is the only effective way of dealing with those ghosts. The other type of monster you’ll encounter here—Rock Ants—also has strong defenses against physical attacks, so you’ll need magic to deal with them too,” I explained to the boys, who nodded dejectedly in response.
“Gotcha. We’ll call it quits for today.” Takayuki sighed in defeat. The exit was right there, so there was probably no need to accompany them.
“Yeah, you do that. See you around,” I said. Feeling good about mentoring them, I got a little cocky and tried to give them a friendly pat on the shoulders as I left. Unfortunately, the game’s harassment block prevented me from doing so, and my hand grasped nothing but air. Olto and the others attempted to mimic me, reaching out to pat Tsuyoshi and Takayuki’s feet as they walked away. Although they weren’t able to touch them either, their smug faces looked mighty cute. This is embarrassing as hell! I screamed internally, feeling my face grow hot. Seriously, this game didn’t have to reproduce every single minuscule detail to a T! As I tried to walk away, pretending like nothing had happened, I heard Takayuki call after me.
“Hey, wait!”
Have pity on me and let me go!
“You’re Silver-Haired, aren’t you?”
“Huh? How’d you know that?”
Apparently, even beginners knew who I was now. I was taken aback to learn that the duo had perused the forums to obtain information about me. Yikes, yet another embarrassing rumor for people to laugh about! However, from the looks of it, the boys hadn’t seemed to notice my earlier blunder. Thank goodness for that! Now, to keep the conversation going as if nothing ever happened!
“We seriously admire you, Silver-Haired! Right, Tsuyoshi?”
“Totally! Mad respect, dude.”
“Huh? What?”
How was I supposed to react to that...?
“Wh-Why, though?”
They didn’t seem to be Farmers or Tamers, so why would they look up to me? Was it because I’d discovered more titles than the average player? Compared to the frontliners, however, there was nothing flashy about my playstyle. If I was being honest, there was absolutely no reason for anyone to admire me. Perhaps they had mistaken me for another player? Yes, that had to be it! One of the frontliners probably had silver hair like me, and they had gotten the two of us mixed up. Otherwise, why else would they be acting this way? Someone had posted a photo of the frontlining team fighting a raid boss in the forums, and they had looked incredibly cool and badass. Even I had felt envious of their swords and spears, despite having given up on being a fighter.
“To be honest, we’d almost given up on this game after getting started so late,” Takayuki confessed.
“Since we couldn’t get a head start anymore, we were discussing chucking LJO in the bin and switching to another game,” Tsuyoshi chimed in. That was understandable. If I were in their shoes, I would probably be sulking too. I might even have lost motivation to continue playing.
“But after learning about you from the forums, we decided to stick with it.”
“Even though you got a monster who’s not made for fighting, you refused to give up. You discovered new titles and this altar along the way and really seem to be enjoying yourself.”
“That made us realize that getting a head start and fighting on the frontlines isn’t the only way to enjoy a game!”
“So now, we focus on just doing whatever we’re interested in and having fun. We’ve been dabbling in all sorts of things ever since.”
This Silver-Haired character they so admired turned out to be me after all. I felt like they were seeing me through rose-tinted glasses, but it was nice to receive such high praise, and I wasn’t about to dash their dreams by correcting their perception of me.
“I-Is that so?” I stuttered, feeling highly uncomfortable.
“Yeah! Um, can we call you big bro?” Tsuyoshi, the swordfighter, asked out of the blue.
“What? Big bro?”
“Yeah! Whaddya say?”
That was a big hell nope from me. Although I understood that there wasn’t any deep meaning behind it, I didn’t want other people to think that we were super chummy with each other. Wouldn’t that seem just way too fishy? Hearing my protests, albeit said in a rather roundabout fashion, Tsuyoshi looked at me, puzzled.
“Hmm. The girls in our class mentioned something similar, you know.”
“They did?”
“Yeah. They pointed out that Takayuki and I were way too close, and when I told them that was because we were childhood friends, they started squealing.”
Their class definitely had a few BL fans. I shot a glance in Takayuki’s direction and saw him bowing apologetically at me. He seemed to understand both the reason for the girls’ reactions and why I was against Tsuyoshi’s term of endearment for me. I now had a rough idea of their relationship: Tsuyoshi was honest and hot-blooded, while Takayuki was calm and rational. In many ways, they balanced each other out perfectly. I bet all those girls had more than enough material to fantasize about.
“Hey, Tsuyoshi. We’ve only just met. Don’t be rude!”
“Right, good point. Sorry. I got a little carried away.”
While I wasn’t keen on being shipped with anyone, I certainly didn’t mind their generous assessment of me. Tsuyoshi agreed not to call me big bro, and we parted ways after exchanging friend codes.
“Thank you.”
“Thanks a bunch!”
Both boys shouted their thanks at me, polite until the very end.
“We got a little sidetracked, but let’s go deliver this formic acid, shall we?”
“Mm!”
“Congratulations. Your guild rank has increased to 6,” Barbara congratulated me once we returned to the Magical Beasts Guild and gave our report. All right, just one more level to go until I hit the magical number 7. It was time to repeat the persistent quest, as there was no guarantee I’d get an easy target again tomorrow. It was best to take advantage of the Gray Squirrel situation while I could and earn as many contribution points as possible. Although the playing field was more dangerous at night due to an increase in monsters, that also meant more opportunities for taming.
“It ain’t every day we go hunting at night!”
“Mmm!”
“...♪”
“Chirp!”
“Growl!”
I pumped my right fist into the air, my companions immediately following suit. Good, they still had plenty of energy left. Time to go hunting before the date changes! With that, we headed to the entrance of the Western Forest and continued our search for squirrels. Due to more powerful enemy spawns, we sustained more damage than usual in battle, though I was also able to tame at a quicker pace. So far, so good. We had already completed the persistent quest twice, with one hour remaining on the clock.
“Think we can go one more round?”
My MP was about to run out. Ideally, I wanted to fulfill the quest one more time and take on another round before the day ended. As long as I had accepted the quest, it didn’t matter when I fulfilled it.
“Chirp chirp!”
“What’s up, Rick? Find a monster?”
Having returned from his foraging, Rick tugged at my robe desperately.
“Chirp chirp!”
Judging from his urgency, it wasn’t a Gray Squirrel he had encountered.
“Don’t tell me it’s another predator?!” I gasped.
“Chirp!”
That wasn’t it either. Rick shook his tiny head to and fro, his fluffy tail swishing hypnotically in sync. What was he trying to tell me, though? Not knowing what to expect, we followed his lead, venturing deeper into the forest. Apparently, his Collect skill allowed him to travel much farther than I thought.
“Chirp chirp!”
“Is that...a player? What are they doing, though?”
Rick had led us to a tree where a lone player sat completely still, hugging their knees to their chest. Judging from their physique, they appeared to be a man. It was incredibly eerie to see a grown man crouching like that under a tree, though. What was he doing?
“Chirp!”
Rick jumped onto my shoulder and pointed at the player. It looked like he had wanted to alert me to this man’s presence. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the player’s life meter was in the red zone. He appeared to be on the verge of death.
“Hey, you okay?” I asked the player huddled on the ground.
“Hm? Are you talking to this humble soul?” the man replied.
“Huh? Uh, yeah, sure.”
Now that I looked, he was clad entirely in black, his face hidden by a mask. Was he playing as a ninja? Wow, this had to be the first time I’d met a player who took role-playing this seriously. For a moment Lewin’s face popped into my mind, but that seemed to be his usual temperament rather than an affectation.
“Chirp!”
“Ah, my good sir! You really did call for help!”
“Chirp chirp!”
“I am indebted to you.”
Rick’s chest puffed with pride from the ninja’s praise.
“So you really are in trouble then.”
“Indeed, I am. I used up all of my recovery items on the way here, so I had no choice but to hide from my enemies using my Hiding skill. That was when I met this honorable squirrel.”
He further explained that since he could tell Rick was a tamed monster from the color of his marker, he had placed his remaining hopes in him and asked him to call for help. His friend, whom he’d sent a rescue request to, would apparently take at least another hour to arrive, and he couldn’t bear the thought of sitting huddled in this position the whole time, hence the need for my assistance.
“Do you have to sit in that position for your Hiding skill to work?” I asked him.
“Not necessarily. It doesn’t matter what position you’re in as long as you don’t move a muscle. This just happened to be the most comfortable position for me. Many people sit cross-legged or in lotus position.”
Hiding seemed far more strenuous than I thought. However, the skill remained in effect for as long as you didn’t move, and the MP cost was onetime upon activation. If you so much as moved an inch, though, the effect would disappear. It was a skill best suited for players who could tolerate staying still for long periods of time.
“Anyway, I’m Yuto, a Tamer. Here, go ahead and drink this.”
Rick had come to me, after all. For his sake, I decided to help this ninja.
“Thank you, good sir! You have my deepest gratitude. My name is Murakage. I’m a shinobi.”
“I don’t recall there being such a job.”
“...At the moment, my official title is a Thief. However, I shall become a shinobi someday!”
S-Sure, whatever you say, dude. Players who took role-playing seriously were on a whole other level. I didn’t mind their enthusiasm, though. If anything, I was kind of envious of how deeply they could immerse themselves in the game.
“How much shall I pay you?” Murakage asked.
“Think it was about 1,000 G at the shops. That’s fine with me.”
“In that case, please accept this.”
“That’s 500 G extra.”
“I believe it’s common courtesy to add something extra in cases like this. It’s a meager compensation for saving my life, but I hope it’ll do.”
Oh well, might as well accept it. Arguing with him would only be a waste of time.
“Did you come to the forest alone, Murakage?”
No matter how good he was at stealth, it wasn’t advisable for solo players to venture into the forests at night. Even more so if he hadn’t advanced to a secondary job class yet, and he did just mention he was a Thief. It would be a different question entirely if he were as strong as Akari, though.
“Yes. I had no choice. I was tasked with a certain quest.”
“What quest?”
“The Bandits’ Guild’s rank-up quest. In order to raise my guild rank to 5, I have to gather three glowing walnuts on my own in a single night,” he explained. That did sound vaguely familiar. “However, it turned out to be more difficult than I anticipated, and I’ve been having a hard time of it.”
Glowing walnuts were already rare enough as they were. Having to gather three of them in one night was intensely challenging—all the more so if you were a solo player. It seemed far more demanding than the Magical Beasts Guild’s rank-up quest.
“Right, that... Isn’t it really hard to complete?”
“Not as hard as you might think. You simply need to pinpoint where the walnut trees are during the day and plan your trips effectively.”
Simply put, it was a quest that required preparation beforehand. As long as you possessed Hiding and Night Vision, it was doable even as a solo player.
“Why were you on the verge of dying, then?”
“It’s a long story...”
“Oh, in that case—”
“To my great dismay, I ran into a predator on the way! It nearly killed me!”
This dude was pretty talkative for a shinobi. I thought ninjas were supposed to be more reserved and secretive?
“Eh, whatever. Think you can make it back to town?”
“Oh yes, without a doubt! You were an absolute lifesaver. I promise to repay you for your kindness!”
“Anytime, man.”
“I shall be taking my leave now. I look forward to meeting you again someday!”
Well, that was exhausting. It didn’t seem like I had enough time to tame three more squirrels before the day ended either. I decided to head back to my farm for now.
Five hours had passed in-game since I saved Murakage, the would-be shinobi Thief, before I logged in again and returned to my farm. I had logged in before sunrise so that I could observe the growth of my crops. There was no deep meaning behind my decision; the idea had simply occurred to me. Did they grow inch by inch like plants did in real life? Or did they experience a sudden growth spurt after a certain amount of time? I was curious to find out. Who knew? I might even witness something peculiar like a time-lapse. Or so I hoped...
“They’ve already grown.”
So much for getting up early. My crops were already fully grown and ready to be harvested. They hadn’t grown yet when I logged out, so that meant they had matured in the few hours I had been away from the game. I had estimated that they would only be ready for harvest once the sun had risen, but my assumption proved to be incorrect.
“Mm!”
“Chirp chirp.”
“Growl growl!”
As usual, my tamed monsters were full of energy, running around the farm engaged in a serious game of tag. Bear Bear appeared to be “it,” while Olto stayed low and crawled army-style, hidden among the crops. Rick took advantage of his size and darted in and out of the grass. Bear Bear surveyed the area with a fierce intensity that I’d never seen, not even during battle. Just don’t trip and damage the crops, okay?
“You guys sure are frisky,” I commented, making my rounds. The farm was a sight to behold at night. Unlike farms in real life, the air felt fresh and crisp with just the right amount of dampness. Countless stars lit up the farm, creating a magical atmosphere that you’d never be able to witness in the city. Out of all the vast land, one tree in particular caught my eye. It was a tree planted on our first farm, which was steadily turning into an orchard.
“That’s our walnut tree, right...?”
A faint light leaked from between the overlapping branches. Searching for the source of the light, I found a glowing walnut. Wow, I had managed to harvest another one! Today was my lucky day.
“Better hurry up and harvest it.”
If I remembered correctly, glowing walnuts lost their glow and turned into regular walnuts after twenty-four hours. To prevent that from happening, my only choice was to store it in my inventory immediately after harvest. As I was harvesting my walnut, I noticed Rick scampering towards me.
“Chirp chirp!”
He seemed to be pointing at something near the entrance.
“Did something happen?”
“Chirp!”
I followed Rick’s lead and spotted two players in front of our farm. They appeared to be a couple, a woman and man. I say “appeared” since their faces were both obscured by black, full-face coverings; I simply assumed one of them was a woman from their stature and physique. That, and I recognized the man.
“My good fellow, thank you for calling Master Yuto over!”
“What’s up, Murakage?”
The man was none other than Murakage, the wannabe ninja I had helped a mere few hours ago. Didn’t he say I look forward to meeting you again someday? This was way sooner than I expected.
“Hello there, Yuto! Thank you for your help yesterday!”
“Don’t mention it. It’s only right to look out for each other.”
“You’re too modest. It’s thanks to you that we were reunited.”
“Oh, so that’s your companion?”
“Yes. My name is Ayakage. Pleased to make your acquaintance,” the woman replied. Their names rhymed! I should’ve guessed from her appearance: like Murakage, Ayakage was also clad entirely in black from head to toe. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that she, too, was role-playing as a ninja.
“I thought I recognized your monsters. Are you the owner of this farm?” Murakage asked.
“Yeah, I am,” I answered. “What brings you here, anyway?”
Did he want something from me? It didn’t take much digging around to find out about this farm, especially if he’d made the connection that I was Silver-Haired, the player known for having died three times, from our previous encounter. According to Murakage, however, he had other reasons for coming here. Apparently, he had been staking out this place—or rather, the walnut tree on my farm—for the past few days.
“I never thought I’d find a player growing walnut trees, especially here of all places, this early on.”
“Well, I have my reasons.”
“May I ask you a question? Do any glowing walnuts grow on the walnut tree you’re growing?”
“I take it you’re looking for glowing walnuts, then?”
“That’s right.”
I could think of only one reason why he might want a glowing walnut...
“For your rank-up quest?”
“Precisely. You see, I could only obtain two glowing walnuts in the Western Forest. Is there any chance I could buy one from you? If you happen to have one, that is.”
“Huh? Are you okay with that?”
Wasn’t he supposed to gather the walnuts himself? Wouldn’t buying one be cheating?
“This quest only requires that you gather and deliver three glowing walnuts without teaming up with anyone.”
As Murakage explained, as long as you delivered them, it didn’t matter whether you bought or found them. That being said, glowing walnuts were a rarity and scarcely available on the market, not to mention expensive when they were. As such, hardly anyone was able to buy them for this quest.
“Sure you wanna spend your hard-earned money on this?” I asked him.
“I don’t mind. If possible, I’d like to raise my rank today. I have to go back to work tomorrow, so I don’t have time to keep attempting this quest.”
Ah, such is life. I could empathize with that all too well.
“You just need one walnut?”
“That is correct.”
Hmm, I supposed I could afford to give him just one. Chances were I’d be able to obtain more in the future, seeing as they grew on walnut trees. Besides, it didn’t feel right to turn him down. As a fellow working adult, I felt a strong urge to support the guy.
“Okay. I don’t mind giving you just one.”
“Really? Thank you, my good man!”
“Thank you so much,” Ayakage chimed in, and the couple bowed together. They really did look alike. Were there other ninjas like them in this game?
“You two are in the same party, right? Are your other party members also ninjas?” I asked, getting my hopes up ever so slightly. That was too much to expect, though.
“No, it’s just the two of us at the moment.”
“However, our dream is to gather like-minded members and form a ninja party someday.”
A ninja party? Oh, were they talking about forming a clan? I was impressed with how far ahead they’d planned this. However, my most surprising discovery wasn’t that my glowing walnut sold for 25,000 G or the fact that they were both over thirty years old in real life, but that they were actually a married couple. An actual couple playing the same game and role-playing as ninjas? Talk about getting along well! Still, why did I not feel jealous of them at all?
“We’ll be going now.”
“Thank you.”
Our dependable biker chick Farmer, Tagosack, came to visit almost immediately once the ninja couple had departed. She too appeared to have gotten up at the crack of dawn to tend to her farm.
“Mornin’, Yuto. ’Nother great day for farmin’, eh?” Tagosack greeted me, a hoe slung over her shoulder.
“Morning, Tagosack,” I replied. I suddenly became aware of her eyes boring into me.
“What’s up?”
“Well, I, uh...”
“Go on.”
“The thing is...”
Though it was obvious that she wanted to ask me something, she seemed hesitant to say it out loud. This wasn’t like her at all. We hadn’t known each other for very long yet, but even so, I knew she was the type of person to speak her mind freely. Seeing her beat around the bush like this was pretty unusual.
“I realize this might be kinda rude, but...” she mumbled.
“What is it? Come on, we’re neighbors. Feel free to ask me anything.”
“Well, you grow weeds on your farm, don’t you? Any particular reason why?”
Ah, the million-dollar question. Honestly, it was weird that she hadn’t asked me this before now, as she’d surely spotted my patch of weeds long ago. Hmm, what now? I did say she could ask me anything, but this particular issue concerned more than just me.
“Uh, about that...”
“Sorry. You don’t needa tell me if you don’t want to. Was just curious, that’s all.”
What should I do? I supposed I could tell her on the condition that she kept it a secret from other players, but... As I was contemplating my next move, two more people arrived on the scene.
“Morning, Yuto.”
“Good morning.”
The newcomers were none other than Ashihana and Akari. The two made an unlikely pair.
“Fancy seeing you here, Tagosack.”
“How’s it goin’, Ashihana?”
“Huh? You guys all know each other?” I asked, surprised by this turn of events.
“Akari’s a regular of mine. So is Tagosack. I made that hoe she’s holding, you know?” Ashihana explained.
“I swung by Ashihana’s place to hang out. She told me she was going to your place to deliver something, so I decided to tag along,” Akari chirped.
Deliver something? That could mean only one thing...
“Ta-da! Bear Bear’s beehive is finally complete!” Ashihana exclaimed.
“Whoa!”
Name: Ashihana’s Special Beehive+
Rarity: 3 / Quality: 8★
Effect: Place item on home base to enable the collection of honey. Quantity, quality, and pickings may vary depending on the person or monster in charge.
At last! And check out that quality!
“Bear Bear! Your beehive is here!” I announced.
“Growl growl!”
Bear Bear had already caught sight of the beehive. Before I knew it, they were standing right next to me, eyes wide and sparkling.
“What do you think? Pretty neat, eh?”
“Totally. I’m glad I asked you, Ashihana. Except... Isn’t it a bit too tall?”
The beehive appeared to be made for human use and was too tall for Bear Bear’s height. At this rate, they wouldn’t be able to peek inside the box. Or would their Beekeeping skills activate automatically once I designated them the monster in charge? As if to answer my question, Ashihana took something out of her inventory. It looked like a small stepladder of sorts.
“Heh heh heh, did you really think I hadn’t thought about that? This is part of the set too! Behold my masterpiece—Bear Bear’s personal step stool!”
So that was what it was. Masterpiece, though? It looked like a regular step stool to me. Did it have some sort of special effect or something?
“I dyed it the same yellow color as Bear Bear, so the two complement each other perfectly. Also, look at these handles! I made sure the holes were big enough so that Bear Bear could easily carry it around!”
There weren’t any special effects—it was just a well-designed piece of furniture. It did suit Bear Bear perfectly, though. Now that I looked at it more carefully, the stool was even shaped like a bear. Ashihana had really gone all out on the details.
“You’re giving me this too?” I asked.
“Of course. Think of it as a full set.”
“In that case, I gladly accept.”
Bear Bear wouldn’t be able to use the beehive without it, after all. Next to Bear Bear, who was using the step to peek inside the beehive, Akari stood stroking Rick’s tail. Judging from his reaction, he seemed to be enjoying it immensely.
“Chirp.”
“By the way, did you just come here to chill, Akari?”
“Yup! I wanted to ask if it was okay to play with your monsters. That’s not the only reason I came, though,” she replied, taking something resembling a potted plant out of her inventory. Correction: it was a potted plant.
“This is for you.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a grow-at-home herb kit that was being sold in Zone Five! The seeds and pot are a set, and you can apparently grow herbs in about five days even if you lack Farming skills.”
“What? Seriously? Can I take a closer look?”
“Of course. In the first place, I bought this as a gift for you. I was sure you’d appreciate it as someone who owns a farm.”
A tiny basilil seedling was sprouting from the pot Akari gave me, proving that the kit worked. People would most likely be able to obtain Plant Knowledge by cultivating herbs this way. Until now, I’d considered players with that skill to have an unfair advantage in the game, but I now knew that it was a skill anyone could obtain once they reached Zone Five.
“Herbs, ya say? Show me,” Tagosack said, craning her neck to look at my potted plant.
“Is this cheap?” I asked.
“It’s 1,000 G apiece,” Akari replied.
“Can anyone buy them once they get to Zone Five?”
“Yeah. It’s becoming a pretty popular Zone Five souvenir lately. I’m growing one too.”
That meant Plant Knowledge would no longer be considered a rare skill. It would only be a few more days before the hype surrounding my herbal tea died down too. Rather than lament the loss of profit, I was far more relieved about being spared from ridiculous fusses like the other day. I wouldn’t be breaking my promise to Ashihana and Sawyer either if this skill were to become widely known as a natural progression of the game.
“One of my friends has made it to Zone Five too. I’ll ask them to buy some for me.”
Tagosack was also keen on cultivating herbs. Since she possessed Farming, I wouldn’t be surprised if she obtained Plant Knowledge by tomorrow.
“Tagosack, you wanna know why I’m growing weeds, right?”
“If you’re willin’ to share, that is. You don’t have to tell me anythin’ if ya don’t want to.”
I glanced at Ashihana, who nodded and gave me the go-ahead.
“You sure?”
“What can you do? Things change. People are bound to find out sooner or later.”
Ashihana also seemed to think that Tagosack would meet the skill’s requirements immediately. That was a no-brainer. I decided to share what I knew about Plant Knowledge with Tagosack. It was also in my own interest to do so; if she could spread this information for me, the herbal tea hype might die down sooner. I sincerely hoped that would be the case.
“Gotcha! So that’s why you were growin’ weeds...” Tagosack nodded sagely upon hearing my explanation.
“Yep. You should grow them too, Tagosack. Since you have Farming skills, you can grow them on your farm without having to rely on kits.”
“You’re right. I’ll give it a go. Thanks, Yuto!”
“Even if I hadn’t told you, you would’ve learned about it sooner or later.”
“Don’t be like that. Ya shared a valuable piece of info with me. Lemme know if I can do anythin’ for ya, anytime.”
She seemed far more grateful than I expected, which made me feel a little bad. All I wanted was for the commotion to die down.
“Sure, I’ll let you know if something comes up.”
“Cool. Ya can count on me!” Tagosack answered, thumping her chest. You really should lose that habit, Miss. I cringed inwardly—though I still couldn’t stop myself from lowering my gaze ever so slightly.
Online Forum [I’d Kill For A Title] A Discussion Thread for Ever-Elusive “Titles” Pt. 2
447: Coriander
Loads more people have been getting titles lately.
448: Keropi
We owe it all to Silver-Haired and the Quick-Eared Cats.
Lots of players who didn’t make it in time for launch day for whatever reason and got off to a late start have been obtaining the title Thou Shalt Not Kill.
449: Kitaro
Famous players sure have a lot of influence.
Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but Silver-Haired’s the one who got The Dryad’s Blessing, amirite?
450: Kurumi
That’s right. He was the only person who had three titles at the time the second report was released.
That rules out the possibility of other players.
451: Kainz
Not only that, but he has four titles now, doesn’t he?
How the heck do you get that many?
452: Kitaro
On the flip side, there aren’t that many frontliners who have titles at the moment. This could very well be a message from the devs, you know?
453: Kurumi
What kinda message?
454: Kitaro
Something like, “Quit getting caught up in fighting all the time, it’s nice to stop and smell the roses once in a while.”
455: Coriander
Makes sense. Could be their way of rewarding players who stop to take the scenic route.
Does that mean the devs prefer players like Silver-Haired who break the mold?
Looks like a few people have been trying to copy him, but I don’t see them obtaining titles left and right.
456: Keropi
From the devs’ point of view, it’s not really considered “breaking the mold,” is it? They probably want players to enjoy what this world has to offer instead of just battling monsters all the time.
Besides, people who make half-assed attempts at obtaining titles and Silver-Haired, who naturally just plays at his own pace, are totally different lol
457: Kainz
I actually changed my hair color to silver in the hopes of emulating him.
458: Kitaro
Yo, blockhead!
459: Kurumi
You really think that’s the important bit?
460: Keropi
If only it were that easy to obtain a title! What are you, stupid?
461: Coriander
What a waste of (real) money.
462: Kainz
You’re all SO mean! *sob*
Listen, though—there are actually a ton of Silver-Haired Defenders! I tried taking on a labor quest like Silver-Haired did, and suddenly all these people started calling me “Pseudo-Haired” and “copycat bastard!” I just wanted to be a little bit like him!
463: Kurumi
Silver-Haired Defenders?
464: Keropi
That’s what his fans are called. Basically, they’re people who were inspired by his playstyle or smitten by his adorable gnome and tree nymph. I feel like he’s gained a lot of followers ever since the Mirei incident.
465: Kitaro
He probably had a lot of hidden fans to begin with. They simply became more outspoken after rumors of him quitting the game surfaced.
466: Keropi
The Defenders aren’t a singular organization, but their main purpose is to watch over him from afar and report players who harass him like in the previous incident.
467: Kurumi
Wow, never knew they existed.
468: Kainz
They’re horrible, I tell you! All I did was change my hair color and say that I was gonna get loads of titles too! “Pseudo-Haired” is too much! At least call me “Fake Silver-Haired” or something!
469: Coriander
Sure you’re okay with that, Fake Silver-Haired?
470: Kainz
For the record, my hair is blue again!
471: Coriander
You seriously wasted your money for nothing, huh?
472: Kainz
I’ll forge my own path. Someday, y’all shall know me as Blue-Haired.
473: Kitaro
Uh, okay. Do your best, I guess?
Online Forum [Gather ’Round Tamers, Part 2] LJO Tamer Megathread
Share the deets on new tamed monsters, show off your companions, etc.—this thread is for everyone!
Bad-mouthing other Tamers is not permitted.
Screenshots gladly accepted.
Avoid double-posting.
Be mindful of what you post.
663: Amelia
Guys, I have an announcement!
My Bun Bun has evolved! And into an unknown species at that!
664: Ivan
Congratulations. What sort of species?
665: Amelia
They’ve evolved into a Heart Rabbit!
At first glance, they look like an ordinary white rabbit, but they have a pink heart on their back! It’s simply adorable!
I always thought Bun Bun was cute, but I had no idea! Bun Bun’s current form is THE pinnacle of cuteness! Nothing can top it!
666: KingOysterMushroom
We all tend to get carried away when we talk about our tamed monsters, so I’ll just leave that at that...
So, what kind of abilities do they have?
667: Amelia
They have high Intelligence and possess Healing. Their defenses are pretty high too.
668: Ursula
That’s an interesting evolution. I’m guessing their appearance hasn’t changed much, though?
669: Amelia
Not really. Only their color has changed. They’re pretty much the same size as before.
670: Eulenspiegel
Really? My tamed monster underwent a pretty drastic change.
When they were a Wild Dog, they looked like a black mutt, but once they evolved into a Guard Dog, they totally became a Saint Bernard. Their droopy eyes are simply lovely.
In terms of stats, they have high Endurance and Intelligence. They also possess Detection and First Aid skills, which are really useful!
671: KingOysterMushroom
Oh, you went that route.
I prefer War Dogs since they look like Shepherds. Even if my tamed monster can evolve into a Guard Dog, I’ll probably go the War Dog route.
672: Amelia
D’aw, really? Saint Bernards are adorable! They’re extra fluffy!
673: KingOysterMushroom
To each their own. Gotta say, though, the evolved forms that are unlocked from maxing out your favorability score have been pretty unexpected and interesting, both in terms of appearance and ability.
Your monsters might even become something completely different.
I’m kinda worried about how my Caterpillar will transform...
674: Ursula
Uh? Caterpillars turn into chrysalises, so of course they look totally different.
675: Amelia
I just realized something SUPER important!
676: Ivan
What is it? Did you misread Bun Bun’s stats?
677: Amelia
I’m not talking about Bun Bun! If the new evolutions we discovered drastically alter our monsters’ appearances, what about Silver-Haired’s gnome?
Up until now, I wasn’t worried since I figured both regular and unique specimens didn’t change much when they evolved, but...
678: Ursula
Y-You’re right. He might undergo a huge transformation! What if he grows up?
679: Amelia
Nooo! I won’t allow that! Gnomey is cute because he’s a gnome! He’ll no longer be a gnome if he matures and turns super handsome or something!
680: Ursula
I wouldn’t mind him becoming a hottie, though.
681: Amelia
Huh? Oh, now that you mention it...
Imagine Gnomey, all grown up, with Silver-Haired... Eep!
682: Ursula
Eek! I just pictured it! Heh heh, I can totally stand behind that!
683: KingOysterMushroom
You and your filthy minds...
How did we end up on this subject, anyway?
684: Ivan
Apparently, Silver-Haired’s gnome is secretly popular among female Tamers and Summoners; he’s pretty much on the verge of getting his own fan club. He does give warm, fuzzy feels, after all.
685: KingOysterMushroom
His other monsters are super popular too. I see loads of people with Little Bears and Honey Bees lately. You can totally tell they’re trying to get a Honey Bear, although I hear it’s incredibly hard to get them to lay the egg they want.
686: Ivan
I see plenty of Tamers with squirrels on their shoulders too.
687: KingOysterMushroom
For people like us who grew up with the early Hayao Miyazaki films, having a small animal riding around on your shoulder is pretty much the dream. I totally get the appeal. If only I had an extra slot left!
688: Eulenspiegel
I’m all for Silver-Haired’s tree nymph! She’s seriously cute. I’d love to tame one too, but you’d need a near-miracle to encounter one on the playing field. It’s not as if I can copy Silver-Haired either.
689: Ivan
I hear lots of Tamers have secretly been obtaining Farming skills.
690: KingOysterMushroom
I reckon the gaming gods blessed Silver-Haired in exchange for getting a gnome as his first monster.
There’s no way we can copy him.
691: Ivan
The consensus on gnomes has changed completely, though.
I gotta say, even though it doesn’t seem like he’s doing it on purpose, all of Silver-Haired’s monsters are bloody adorable. It’s like he’s a natural magnet for cute things.
692: Eulenspiegel
Hey, if you guys want a gnome that badly, why don’t you tame one? Considering how Silver-Haired was able to obtain one as his first monster, they’ve gotta be somewhere around Zone Two, right?
693: Amelia
If we knew where they were, we would’ve tamed one a long time ago!
694: Ursula
Try being in my shoes! I’ve been camping out in Zone Two for ages!
695: KingOysterMushroom
Idiot. You’ve done it now.
696: Eulenspiegel
Huh? You mean no one’s found them yet?
697: KingOysterMushroom
They did appear in Zone Three during the beta test, but apparently, no one’s had any luck encountering them there in the official version.
Meaning, you can’t get your hands on a gnome even if you wanted to.
698: Ursula
I’ve been recruiting volunteers to comb the area, but we can’t find a gnome anywhere!
699: Amelia
Please, if there’s a gaming god, give us a gnome *sob*
700: Eulenspiegel
Y-You guys are creeping me out! I’ll do anything I can, so please forgive me!
701: Amelia
Anything?
702: Ursula
I saw that.
703: Ivan
Haven’t you heard of the saying “least said, soonest mended”?
704: KingOysterMushroom
Wouldn’t it be “least typed, soonest mended” in this case?
705: Amelia
The Gnome Search Party gladly welcomes you as our newest member! Let’s do our best together!
706: Ursula
We’re meeting at the Humming Forest at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow! Don’t be late!
707: Eulenspiegel
Huh? For real? I don’t actually want a gnome, though... I’d much rather have a tree nymph.
708: Amelia
Are you gonna betray us? Betray all lady Tamers in this game?
709: Ursula
You said you’d do anything! I have proof!
Do you still intend on going back on your word?
710: Eulenspiegel
...I shall humbly join your search party (ToT)
711: Ivan
Good luck! Won’t be joining you, though.
712: KingOysterMushroom
Yeah, good luck, dude.
Definitely count me out.
“Aw man, look at that line...”
I had totally assumed that I’d been freed from the herbal tea fiasco after telling Tagosack how to obtain Plant Knowledge. To my dismay, however, people were queuing in front of my stand as usual. I should’ve known the hype wouldn’t die that easily. It looked like I would have to restock my shop with tea leaves again. At the same time, I had realized something else—this hype would likely continue unless I also spread information on how to dry weeds using Alchemy. It was probably best if I let Tagosack know so that she could post it online.
At this rate, it’d be ages before I could visit Zone Three to buy more land; all this demand for herbal tea left me with hardly any free time for anything else. Of course, I had no obligation to keep selling herbal tea here, but there was no telling how people would react if I just quit all of a sudden. While I was sure most people would be understanding, there would no doubt be haters as well, and those who are critical tend to be the loudest. I supposed I could post the information myself, but like I mentioned before, I was more of a lurker.
I was relieved when Tagosack readily agreed to help me spread the word. Ashihana also agreed to post in the forums. If the method for making herbal tea leaves became common knowledge among Farmers, this whole storm would likely subside shortly.
“Things should quiet down in a few days.”
In the meantime, I meant to complete the Magical Beasts Guild’s persistent quest as many times as possible and raise my rank there, as there was no telling if I would be ready to take on the quests in Zone Three.
“Let’s set up the beehive, shall we?”
After restocking my stand, it was time to set up Ashihana’s beehive.
“Growl growl!”
Bear Bear tottered after me, step stool in hand. Where would be a good place to set up their beehive? Somewhere on the farm?
“Hey, Bear Bear. Know where the best place is to set up a beehive?”
“Growl!”
For matters like this, I figured it was best to ask a skilled professional for their opinion. Bear Bear nodded sagely in reply and began leading the way. As I suspected, there seemed to be places that were more suitable than others. Since the step stool was relatively big for Bear Bear, they weren’t able to walk very fast. With each step they took, their bobtailed butt wiggled from side to side adorably.
“Mmm, nice ass.”
Bear Bear’s butt was beautiful and plump—bootylicious, if you will.
“Growl?”
“...Nothing. Anyway, have you decided where to put this?”
“Growl!”
The location Bear Bear selected was the plot I had started referring to as our orchard, where our green peach, walnut, and lakeside trees were. Bear Bear glanced back at me, directing me to place the beehive in the open space in the center.
“You mean here?” I turned to him for confirmation.
“Growl growl!”
I set up the beehive according to Bear Bear’s instructions. Once I’d set it down, the box glowed faintly, and a window popped up, prompting me to select the person in charge of the beehive. Although my name was also an option, Bear Bear was the obvious choice.
“Selecting Bear Bear as manager... And done.”
As soon as I’d designated Bear Bear as the owner, a change overcame the beehive.
“Hm? Are those bees?”
Several tiny bees had begun flying around the box. Would they increase in number and eventually build a hive? That was fine and all, but they wouldn’t sting, would they? I decided to steer clear of them just to be safe. Wouldn’t want them to freak out and flee either. I followed the bees’ trail and saw that they had flown in the direction of the green peach tree. Could they have gone to gather honey from the flowers there? I suspected they might be able to collect good-quality honey from the green peach and walnut trees in our orchard. I was already looking forward to what was to come.
“I’m counting on you, Bear Bear.”
“Growl!” Bear Bear raised their paw eagerly. I left them to deal with the rest, getting ready to head out for a bit.
“If I’m going to Zone Three, I gotta make sure I have the right gear.”
I decided to buy some new equipment with the money I made from selling tea leaves. While my staff was still in good shape, it was about time I replaced my robe and accessories. I could also equip myself with more items now that my Strength and Endurance were slightly higher. To be honest, I currently had more than 100,000 G on me. With that much money, I was sure I’d be able to buy something good.
“I’m heading out. You staying for a bit longer?” I asked Ashihana, who was still playing with Rick.
“Where are you headed?”
“Gonna look into replacing some of my equipment.”
“I see. Are you buying a new staff then?”
“Nah, I have this, after all. What I really want is a new robe, and maybe some accessories too.”
“Gotcha. ...You know, you can strengthen this staff if you want.”
“Strengthen it?”
“Yep,” Ashihana replied, holding on to my staff as she checked something on her status window. “In terms of what you can add on to this staff...I’d say adding minor boosts to your water magic firing power or MP would be your best bet.”
“You can tell all that just by looking?”
“Yeah, as long as it’s a wooden item. I am a Woodcutter, after all.”
That was a top woodworker for you. Her Appraisal skill seemed to give her all sorts of information.
“How much will it cost?”
“20,000 G for either option.”
That included the cost of gathering the necessary materials. I figured I might as well take her up on her offer, so I paid Ashihana the 20,000 G for a minor boost in water magic attack power.
“How long do you reckon it’ll take?”
“I have all the ingredients for that option, so it should be ready in about an hour or so.”
“That soon? In that case, can I leave my staff with you? I’ll go buy my armor in the meantime.”
“Sure thing.”
“Thanks.”
I left Ashihana my wooden staff and set off to buy some new armor. Rick was my sole companion, as the others had chores to take care of. First stop, Lewin’s.
“Hi. Long time no see,” I greeted him.
“Hey, Yuto. Good to see ya again. Ya here to upgrade your armor?”
“I am. Can I see your robes?”
Lewin showed me several options, but none of them really spoke to me. While their defenses weren’t bad, their other effects weren’t that appealing.
“Hmm, if none of these appeal to ya, I don’t think you’ll find anythin’ suitable at my shop.”
“That’s a shame...”
I had, however, found one accessory that I liked:
Name: Wind and Earth Necklace
Rarity: 3 / Quality: 6★ / Durability: 160
Effect: Defense +3, minor wind and earth damage resistance.
Weight: 1
Having resistance to more than one attribute was a nice feature, considering how often I was on the receiving end of magical attacks during battles. My bronze necklace had proved to be of very little help in that regard. The question was, what should I do about my robe...? Should I check out other shops? As I was contemplating what to do, Lewin recommended to me one of his acquaintances’ shops—a tailor, as it happened. Although they weren’t a member of the Quick-Eared Cats, they, too, appeared to be an ex-beta tester.
“Sure you’re okay with introducing me to one of your competitors?” I asked.
“We’re acquaintances now. Besides, it doesn’t sit right with me to leave a customer dissatisfied. If I can’t help ya, it’s only right to introduce ya to someone who can.”
“Thank you very much. I’ll pay them a visit.”
“Say hi to them for me, will ya?”
Saying goodbye to Lewin, I headed to the indicated stall in the North District.
“Hmm, should be around here somewhere...”
“Chirp!”
“Hey, buddy. You see it?”
“Chirp chirp.”
Rick shimmied down my body onto the ground and darted off in the direction of the square.
“Wait up! Not so fast, Rick!”
“Chirp chirp.” He glanced back from a little ways ahead, urging me to hurry up.
“So, where’s the armor shop?”
“Chirp?”
“Huh? I thought you said you found the shop Lewin told us about.”
“Chirp?”
What shop? Rick seemed to be saying, tilting his head to the side. Why had he taken off like that, then? I mused it over, slightly baffled. As if to answer my question, Rick scampered up a stall in front of us.
“My my, what an adorable customer.”
The shop appeared to be run by a plump, middle-aged woman NPC who was frying something in a wok. What was that sound, though? It sounded like pebbles rubbing against one another.
“Welcome,” the woman greeted me. “Is this your squirrel, young man?”
“Uh, yes. What kind of shop is this?”
“We sell roasted beans.”
The mysterious food she was tossing in her wok turned out to be beans. Now that I had stopped to smell it, the fragrant whiff of roasted beans permeated my nostrils. It seemed like something Rick would enjoy.
“Don’t tell me you simply happened to find your favorite food?”
“Chirp chirp!”
Don’t stare at me with those puppy eyes. Oh, for goodness’ sake! Fine, you win!
“How much are they?” I asked the woman, giving in to Rick’s demands.
“That’ll be 100 G per bag,” she replied.
Name: Roasted Beans
Rarity: 1 / Quality: 6★
Effect: None. Edible.
“I’ll take one, then.”
“One bag of beans, coming right up!”
Using a ladle, the woman scooped up a bunch of beans and emptied them into a paper bag. It was a pretty generous helping; there had to be at least three ladles worth of beans in there. I munched on one, and the plain taste of lightly salted beans filled my mouth. They tasted like the roasted soybeans you ate during Setsubun, the Japanese bean-throwing holiday. To be honest, they weren’t that good. They weren’t bad as a snack, but I’d get bored of them real quick if I had to eat them every day.
Cromch cromch cromch cromch.
“Chirp!”
Rick seemed to enjoy them immensely, though. He shoved his whole head inside the paper bag I was holding, devouring the beans like there was no tomorrow.
“Hey, slow down!”
“Chirp?”
Rick’s face was beyond recognition as he poked his head out of the bag. Who knew a squirrel’s face could stretch this much...?
“How many beans do you have in there?” I sighed, staring at his puffed-out cheeks. I had no idea how he was storing all those beans in his body.
“Ha ha ha! What an appetite!” the woman chortled. Thanks to this little detour, however, I was able to find out where Lewin’s friend’s shop was.
“Found it. That must be Shuella’s shop.”
It was obvious from the outside that the shop belonged to Lewin’s friend. Frilly lace decorated the roof of the stall, giving it an indescribable grandeur. It was more than just stand-out crazy; it didn’t fit in at all with the rest of the square. How on earth could I have missed that?
“Excuse me. I’d like to see your robes, please,” I called out hesitantly.
“Coming! Welcome to Shuella’s, fam! We specialize in tailoring and leather goods,” the girl looking after the store greeted me. She had a peculiar air about her and was dressed from head to toe in a frilly gothic lolita outfit, with two pink ponytails on each side of her head and a skull eyepatch over her right eye. She clearly had a certain aesthetic in mind. She was about 140 centimeters tall, with large eyes set in a babyish face. While she could almost pass as an elementary school kid, her mannerisms and expression were more mature.
“Heh heh. Did I sweep you off your feet?”
“Huh? More like surprised me with your unique choice of outfit,” I replied without thinking, completely taken aback. The woman didn’t seem offended, though, and seemed to be enjoying herself instead.
“Tee hee. Neat, huh? Female Dwarfs get to pull off the lolita look legally! I got a little excited by that and ended up spending over two hours just on avatar creation.”
Though it wasn’t exactly the same as role-playing, she, too, appeared to be enjoying the game in her own way. Just then, the player next to her chimed in.
“In real life, she’s a crone nearing forty. That’s why she wants to look young, at least in-game. Hope you’ll forgive her for that.”
“Uh, okay...?”
“You asshole! How dare you give away my secret!” Shuella fumed.
“Just telling the truth, that’s all.”
The player who had blurted out Shuella’s real age was a plain-looking young man. Unlike her, his avatar looked like he’d hardly put any effort into it. Considering this game made you look attractive by default, he had to have tweaked his appearance somewhat to get it to look this nondescript. What a total waste of energy. Was he role-playing as a mob character or something? I found him just as intriguing as Shuella.
“The name’s Seki. I’m a leathersmith. Nice to meet you.”
“L-Likewise.”
Seki remained stony-faced, not moving a single facial muscle. That was pretty impressive in itself.
“Um, Lewin told me about your shop,” I explained.
“Is that so? Guess he can be useful sometimes. So, what are you looking for?” Shuella asked. She seemed to be in charge of dealing with customers. Seki simply stood there, staring off into space.
“I’m looking for a new robe.”
“Gotcha. How much weight can you handle?”
“No more than 3, if possible.”
“Hmm, then how about these?”
Name: White Dragonfly Wings Robe
Rarity: 3 / Quality: 7★ / Durability: 180
Effect: Defense +23, Agility +1.
Requirement: Intelligence 10 or higher.
Weight: 2
Name: Armored Robe
Rarity: 3 / Quality: 6★ / Durability: 230
Effect: Defense +38, Agility -1, magic skill debuff.
Requirement: Strength 4 or higher.
Weight: 3
Name: Fish Scales Robe
Rarity: 4 / Quality: 4★ / Durability: 170
Effect: Defense +35, minor water resistance, minor water adaptability.
Requirement: Water magic level 5 or higher.
Weight: 3
Name: Savage Dog Leather Robe
Rarity: 3 / Quality: 6★ / Durability: 200
Effect: Defense +22.
Requirement: Strength 3 or higher.
Weight: 2
Shuella had a surprisingly good selection. The Armored Robe had several metal plates sewn onto it and offered the highest defense, but the magic skill debuff made me hesitant to buy it. Although the White Dragonfly Wings Robe wasn’t bad, its appearance was a little...eccentric. True to its name, it looked like a set of dragonfly wings sewn together and resembled a heavenly maiden’s dress. On top of that, it was semitransparent, and the bottom half of the robe was perfectly see-through. To be honest, I didn’t have the courage to wear such a gaudy outfit. That left me with two options: either the Fish Scales Robe or the Savage Dog Leather Robe. The Fish Scales Robe had bluish fish scales taken from a giant fish sewn onto it, which accented the robe perfectly. In contrast, the Savage Dog Leather Robe was a simple brown robe made from leather. With its slightly short hem, it sort of reminded me of the protagonist’s clothes in The Deadly Companions.
The Fish Scales Robe was the clear winner. At 35,000 G, it cost more than double the price of the Savage Dog Leather Robe, but its stats were far superior to the Blue Robin Robe I was currently wearing and likely surpassed my initial Silver Robe too. I also bought a bluish-white pair of trousers called Forest Spider-Spun Pants to wear underneath, which cost me a whopping 23,000 G.
Name: Forest Spider-Spun Pants
Rarity: 4 / Quality: 4★ / Durability: 130
Effect: Defense +15, moderate paralysis resistance.
Requirement: Endurance 4 or higher.
Weight: 1
Although its defense seemed somewhat low for its price point, it did offer moderate resistance to paralysis, an effect I had eagerly sought. After all, who would heal my monsters if I got paralyzed? Not to mention it was incredibly lightweight. There was no denying it was an excellent piece of equipment. Now that my new purchases had more than doubled my overall defense, it’d likely be a while before I had to worry about buying new gear again. I also bought Rick a new bandana.
Name: Crimson Bandana
Rarity: 3 / Quality: 5★ / Durability: 140
Effect: Defense +13, paralysis resistance.
Weight: 1
“Looking sharp, Rick.”
“Chirp!”
“Is that all? If you’re going to enter the Martial Arts Tournament, you’ll probably need to strengthen your defenses a bit more,” Shuella suggested. That’s right—the Martial Arts Tournament was starting today. Since I didn’t intend on participating, it had completely slipped my mind. Not that it had anything to do with me, though. I had never fought on my own before, and you couldn’t bring your monsters to the event. Tamers and Summoners would have far too big an advantage if they were able to fight with their monsters. Although cheering from the stands was an option, I didn’t really get the appeal of watching other people fight. I supposed I could check out the finals, but the preliminary rounds didn’t particularly interest me. Besides, the final match would very likely be streamed online, so there really was no reason for me to go to the arena to watch it. Gaining XP on the playing field seemed like a far better use of my time.
“I see. Well, I suppose that’s fair if you’re not interested in fighting.”
Though crafters themselves, Shuella and Seki appeared to be interested in fighting as well. People like me who were indifferent were apparently a minority.
“I’ll be leaving now,” I said, bidding them goodbye.
“Come again soon,” Shuella winked at me as I left the square, shrewd until the very end.
“Chirp.”
Cromch cromch cromch.
“You’re still eating?!” I gasped exasperatedly. Rick must have eaten more than his weight in beans by now. How greedy can you be?! There was no way I could get mad at him, though, not with those puffy cheeks and round button eyes.
“Whatever, come along,” I sighed.
“Chirp chirp.”
Cromch cromch cromch.
I found Ashihana waiting for me when I returned to our farm.
“Yuto! Welcome home.”
“Growl growl.”
“Hey, Ashihana. Did you come just to bring me my staff?”
“Yep. Besides, I wanted to hang out with Bear Bear!” Ashihana exclaimed, hugging Bear Bear from behind and nuzzling their fur. I wouldn’t call that hanging out; using Bear Bear as a plaything seemed more accurate. Bear Bear had their eyes closed in contentment, however, and didn’t seem to mind the affection. There was one thing that concerned me, though...
“You didn’t bother Bear Bear while they were working, did you?”
“Of course not. I was waiting here the whole time until they were done!”
“That’s fine then. Anyway, how about that staff?”
“It turned out great! Here you go!”
Name: Giant Dogwood Staff+
Rarity: 3 / Quality: 6★ / Durability: 130
Effect: Attack +3, Magic +21, minor decrease in energy expenditure when using water magic, minor boost in water magic attack power, medium increase in energy expenditure when using fire magic.
Weight: 1
Wow, I really did have a minor boost in water power now. Wielding water magic had just gotten easier.
“This is great!”
“Right? Are you sure you want to specialize in just water, though?”
“What do you mean?”
“Usually rearguard mages specialize in two attributes, don’t they? You’ll be a goner if you encounter an enemy that voids water-based attacks.”
She had a point... I didn’t expect I’d be running into any such enemies in the near future, though, so I decided to think it over a bit longer. I still had ten bonus points left to spare.
Ding-dong.
“This is a public announcement. We will be starting the event as advertised in one hour. For details, please refer to the in-game notice in your inbox.”
Our conversation was interrupted by an announcement from the devs. I opened the attached file, which listed details of the event.
“Huh. Didn’t know it was that kind of event,” Ashihana whistled.
“I thought it was just a Martial Arts Tournament.”
The Martial Arts Tournament was still scheduled to be held, but to our surprise, there was another event besides it. The other event was for crafter-types and players who didn’t intend on watching the tournament. For the Martial Arts Tournament, there was a solo division and group division, and anyone who wanted to join could take part in them. Even NPCs seemed to be participating. Wouldn’t it be hard to win if you were up against a particularly high-level NPC? Not that I cared. I was more interested in this other event.
“Many adventurers, mercenaries, and crafters gather in the Town of Beginnings during the Martial Arts Tournament. Because of that, the neighboring villages have fewer workers during this period, causing various jobs to stagnate. We kindly ask those of you who aren’t participating in the tournament to lend a helping hand to these villages.”
That was how the message started out. As I read on, I discovered that it was an event even I could take part in. Participants were divided into groups of roughly three hundred and transferred to their designated villages. They would then spend a week there completing various quests and helping the villagers. To be honest, that wasn’t any different from what I usually did. Time would also be sped up during this event, so one week in the village would be equivalent to only one day in real life. Furthermore, Tamers would be able to bring their tamed monsters with them. That was good to know. Should I participate? I hadn’t done any preparations, but it did seem like a fun event.
“How about you, Ashihana?”
“I’m definitely joining! Gotta go round up my friends first. See ya!”
I decided to select Join as well. Seemed like we’d get transported to our respective villages as soon as the time came.
“Wasn’t expecting to be able to take part in an event...! I’m excited!”
“Chirp chirp!”
“They said it’s starting in one hour, right? Better run back to our farm and get ready!”
“Chirp!”