abcnovels
Chapter 36
Chapter 36
36
“The boss’ drops are, well, at pocket money level.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s been weakened, so yeah.”
As we walk to the next town, I talk with Clementia-san.
Although other towns were in open spaces, the town in the West seemed to be inside a forest.
“We’ll get to town if we follow this road~.”
“In this world carriages are the main method of travel, so I guess roads are a must have.”
“I bet~.”
Most likely this road was used before the boss started nesting there, so the road itself is properly here. There is no need to repair it. Although, I don’t know if there is a system like that.
“They said West’s enemies are strong, but it’s apparently ‘cause the status ailments are annoying~.”
“Ohh, so western enemies are using them?”
“You can get materials for healing, and enemies are insect and plant-type. They cause Poison, Paralysis and Bind.”
Binds do work on me. Bind and freeze… as well as petrification stop movements themselves, so they aren’t classified as physical, but as “other” and aren’t within the range that I am immune to.
“Hnm a horse? Is that a carriage?”
Just like Clementia-san muttered, after a while we see a carriage coming our way, and we move from the road to let it pass before we start walking again.
“You didn’t tell by sound, did you? Is that a type of sensing peculiar to your race?”
“I guess it is by sound in a way~? Looks like I can sense the vibrations in the earth, and it’s quite useful but… it’s weak against the enemies in the sky.”
“Ahh, I see. Now that you mention it, it is very plant-like.”
Apparently the Skill was unlocked at level 20. Most likely… other races will have similar things, like snakes having thermovision.
“I was kind of curious, can you hold things with those hands?”
“Nnn? No, not at all. I use these instead~. They’re useful when you get used to them~.”
She said and wiggled several of the vines that she had on the leaf part of her head. So she can use them by herself?
“These small arm-like protrusions can only move a little up and down, they are of no use.”
“So there is no “how do you hold things with that hand” staple that you see in games sometimes, hm?”
“Unfortunately there isn’t… Moreover, unless you learn how to use vines you can’t stab a Disassembly Knife in, so it’s a pretty crucial ability.”
“Ahhh… Then this means you can hold weapons with it?”
“I tried, but metal weapons are too heavy~. I can hold magic catalysts, but I can’t feel them having any effect. I feel that this race has hidden stats.”
“Magic catalysts are usually wooden staves, after all...”
“Right~? There is high possibility this body of mine is a magic catalyst in itself~.”
This game has a lot of masked data. Stats are one thing, but it’s also rare for Skills to have any mention of the multiplication values.
Moreover, they quietly mixed in parts that are tied to the world’s setting. The thing you call “the common sense of this world”. If you become a horse, the people of this world will be very kind to you - especially merchants. Well, you can’t talk, but… there is a person inside, so a horse player’s intelligence is very high. Apparently horse players receive designated requests from merchants. Like, requests for pulling a carriage or doing riding training.
There is nothing special coming to us Immortals, but I don’t know what will happen after we arrive in Nether.
“I receive designated requests from farmers~”
“Is it because you are a plant? Do you have a Skill regarding them?”
“See, I have «Plant Knowledge» Skill. I know how to raise plants and can tell in what state they are to an extent. And I can talk with humans by writing on the ground with my vines.”
To farmers who want to try starting a new thing, knowledge of whether they are doing things right must be plenty useful. Furthermore, if she can tell the state of vegetables, then it is more than enough. Looks like Residents have learned how to use Outsiders, too. If they make it into a request or a quest, Outsiders will do pretty much anything.
“Welcome to Breyurich!”
As we chatted while walking, we eventually arrive at the town inside the western forest, Breyurich. The North was all brown-colored, but this place is all green-colored. Let’s first go to the center of the town and unlock the portal.
“It appears they are cultivating magic herbs all over.”
“Oh, you can tell they are magic herbs?”
“I can see it with magic sight.”
“Ahh, I see. That is one way to distinguish them~.”
Magia Trace allows for seeing magic power as is. Magic herbs that are materials for potions have magic power in them, so it’s pretty simple to tell which plants are magic herbs. And receiving detailed information about what it is, is «Identification»’s role.
When after going to the central square and unlocking the portal, I took a look around, I saw things familiar enough to make me take a second glance.
"That’s… Lavender and Roses?”
“Unnh~? Yup, looks like it~~.”
“If I can buy some, I could make herb tea...”
I take a look at a Resident’s store… but the price is higher than I expected..
Lavender, Camomile, Pepper Mint, Eucalyptus, Rose, Rosemary, and so on… there were quite a number of various herbs, but they all were priced fairly high...
"...They sure are pricey, aren’t they?”
“Agreed...”
“Haha, of course they are. They are materials for potions, after all.”
“Are the parts used for potions, only the best parts…?”
“That’s right. The good parts are those where magic power gathers, you know?”
“What are you doing with the other parts?”
“You mean the ones that aren’t made into potions? We leave them be.”
In other words, the remaining parts are left be for seeds or are made into fertilizer. Which also means that they aren’t distributing it? Did they not think about making it into a herb tea, because they are a material for potions? Rather than make something like a herb tea of which effect is unknown, it’s better for them to make potions.
"...Is it possible to buy seeds for them?”
“We aren’t dealing in seeds, but if you go to that store, you can buy some.”
“That store, yes? Thank you very much.”
“Sure.”
When I enter the store I was shown, I saw they were selling seeds for various types of magic herbs.
“Are you buying a field, Princess?”
“That’s the problem, isn’t it. Even if I have seeds, I have no home to cultivate them. I only want herbs for herb tea, so if the good parts are sold...”
“Time in inventory stops, so there is no point carrying a flower pot around, too~.”
I was talking with Clementia-san, when a storekeeper came to us, and we asked him about it.
“Hm-mm. In other words… what you need is the taste and smell, and parts that aren’t used for potions are enough?”
“Yes indeed...”
“In that case, if you wait a little I can sell some to you.”
And so, I bought some. A Herb Set for 5000. It’s a use-limited item just like salt and others. By selecting a herb you need you can buy a set, so it’s pretty convenient.
“Thank you very much.”
“Oh no, it’s not a problem at all, we were able to sell the parts that we normally don’t use.”
“By the way, do you know maybe where tea is being produced?”
“It’s not cultivated anywhere near the Starting Town. In general it’s consumed by nobles, so I believe you should be able to get it near each capital city. It would cost a lot to carry it all the way here...”
So it was the capital after all. Speaking of which, I haven’t seen a world map yet, have I? Let’s go look for one next time I go to the library.
By the way, water is apparently very tasty here. It’s thanks to that, that the area is able to produce magic herbs.
We leave the store and head to a well we were taught about. Water can be used for cooking, after all. Currently I’m using water made with?Water?, but I think there will be a change if I use better water.
Also, since water recovers her Satiety, Clementia-san was in really high spirits. Looks like «Photosynthesis» consumes Satiety… or to be precise, water. Although Immortal’s «Automatic HP Recovery» runs on unknown powers, in exchange we have limb loss mechanics.
Clementia-san Skillfully scoops water with the vines on her head, then jumps right into the bucket with water.
“PYYAAAAAAAHHH! Hits the right spottttsssss!!”
She let out a high-pitched voice and started headbanging wildly, isn’t her persona falling apart?
“Phew...”
So this is the rumored sage mode. It feels like her leaves and skin(?) have become more lustrous. Like nothing happened, she scooped water again and after moving it to a container, she put it away in her inventory. Apparently it recovers more than?Water?does.
I also scooped a few times, so it’s water of B quality, hm? And it’s an item with a number of uses, too.
Now, I register Clementia-san as a friend and go have a late lunch.
And after the meal, I take some time relaxing before I log in at 3 p.m.. It’s evening in the game, isn’t it. Now, what do I do next? ...For now let’s return to the Starting Town.
“Oh, hey Princess! What a coincidence!”
“If it isn’t Ske-san, good day.”
“I’ll give you this, Princess! Also, got time now?”
“Parts? Thank you very much. I was wondering what to do from here on, so I’m free.”
“Then help me out with verifying necromancy Skill~.”
“Oh, all right.”
I got three parts for recovering lost limbs. You never know when they will be of use, so this makes me pretty happy.
It didn’t matter which gate we leave through, so we left through the North one. We move away from the road so as not to get in anyone’s way, formed a PT and started verifying.
Ske-san also seemed to have «Necromantic Secrets» so we can compare with each other.
“By the way, did you learn «Supervising Undead»?”
“Mmmm? Nothing like that appears...”
“Which means it’s my race’s Skill or… the tier? You are still low tier, right?”
“Yup, I’m Low Immortal. Certainly, there is a possibility they won’t let low tier supervise~.”
We will know if it’s that when Ske-san evolves, so it’s put on hold. It could be said that we can’t tell until he evolves.
The comparison of summoning costs showed that we both have the same rules.
The two of us summoned a skeleton in their initial state and had them fight each other with bare hands.
“Hm-mm…? What level is your AI, Princess?”
“It’s… 25 now.”
“I see. Looks like the coping with problems is fairly different? I’m still at a single digit.”
“Looks like it’s more important than we thought? I gave mine Magic Stones, so I did not know how it was in the initial state.”
We tried checking the AI, but he did not listen to orders… or rather, did not understand them. Fight, come back, wait, is all that his skeleton was able to do. It was slightly better than that of a kid. ...Like a trained dog?
Also, we tested them on rabbits, but we discovered that the damage dealt with swords was low. My skeleton had no problems. Just like my skeleton can’t use a bow, it’s possible that it’s impossible to use a sword until Lv25.
By comparing, I could tell that my summons are growing. It’s good to be able to clearly tell this.
“This must mean that it’s easier to smash than slash.”
“Looks like it might be better to feed them with Magic Stones, mm…? Weapon problems aside, it’s troublesome that they don’t understand instructions.”
“I don’t have any complaints so far. The overall lack of stats can only be raised with leveling of «Necromantic Secrets», so...”
“You mentioned he can’t use a bow, right. When I’m in party with Alf, just the two of us, a bow would be nice, though? Well, let’s not ask for too much. For now, the goal is 20+.”
“He managed to fight in the second area with Skill level 1 and 20 AI, it’s possible to use them as attackers in that state. Although, when bones got hit he was instantly put in the red zone...”
“If that was the result with your buffs included, Princess, then mine will die~.”
I also had something I wanted to try, so let’s try it. I put full equipment on #1 and summon him with extra cost, then have him fight a rabbit.
After that, I dismiss him and summon a higher tier, Red Skeleton at initial cost, then have him fight a rabbit again.
“Oh, it’s red.”
“You can summon one when your «Necromantic Secrets» reaches 10. The cost is 200, though.”
“Went up all at once, hm…? But it looks like it’s worth the cost?”
“The bodily performance went up and the movements are nice? But right now I don’t have much capacity left. It’s 220 after all.”
“Speaking of which, how’s Capacity increasing going?”
“Most likely it’s based on enemy size. Big enemies’ flesh drops can be made into parts so I’m kinda reluctant...”
“That thing has a pretty small drop rate~. And most likely only drop in the second area or later, so above level 20. Moreover, other tops say they haven’t seen them before, so isn’t it a drop limited to people having necromancy or Immortals?”
There’s one dropping for every 200 enemies? In a normal MMO it would be a pretty common drop. Well, the use is very limited though.
Also… Custom class is ×2. Custom body ×2 for every addition and I can add up to 4 additions for ×8 the cost. When I customize them, even a base Skeleton… gets ×2+×8+×3 and ends up at 960 capacity cost.
Ske-san has no «Immortal Royalty» so he can’t give his Skills to his Servants. In other words, he can’t give them automatic recovery, and as a result they are night-only for now, aren’t they? Apparently his goal is to level his «Necromantic Secrets» at nighttime until he can use them during the day.
I summoned #2 at initial cost and had him bring the Rabbit that #1 has beat. While talking with Ske-san I stabbed a Disassembly Knife in.
“By the way Princess, did you get new Monster Skills at 20?”
“Yes, I did. I took three.”
“I took «Automatic MP Recovery» and «Automatic Recovery Trait»~.”
“Right? I also took «Life Absorption».”
“Alf took that one~. He said he took «Life Absorption» and «Automatic Recovery Trait».”
“So «Clinging to Life» gets ignored after all.”
“The probability itself is… Game-wise, it probably isn’t too high?”
“I guess so. I don’t think there would be a high chance of reviving on the spot and it says nothing about death penalty, so I hesitate to take it. For now I want to keep my SP.”
“I wanted «Magic Resist», but I want to retain SP, too...”
“Is that a lower tier of Magic Resistance?”
“Probably~.”
“Magic-type is in the extra race, so I think you will get «Magic Resistance» after you evolve? I have «Magic Resistance», but it barely went up so far.”
“So there is a high possibility it will appear with evolution, but is unnecessary at this point? Then it might be better if I don’t take it~.”
There is a possibility for Extra Races to get higher tier Skills ahead of others, so people like Ske-san who found an item and have the evolution guaranteed, should decide to only take the least amount of Skills until then.
“By the way, there was a correction to drop rates, did anything change?”
“You should be able to tell when you remove «Disassembly», but sometimes Rabbits don’t drop any meat? Also… the amount of drops you get when you use «Disassembly» is now static?”
“I see, that’s a good thing.”
“Well, only meat drop was changed.”
It would be a problem if things other than meat were static drops, so it can’t be helped? From my perspective, I get crafting materials - meat - by the way as I beat enemies, so it’s much easier than «Mining» or «Gathering».
The second batch’s people are hunting nearby, so I dismissed my skeleton after beating about six Rabbits.
“Oh right. I received information on a place that seems to have an entrance to Nether.”
“Ooh, where?”
“The area North of Belstead.”
“The third area in the East, huh.”
“Apparently an old temple of Stellura-sama's is in there. And it’s full of undead.”
“THAT area! I heard it’s really dark there, right? Moreover, enemies are stronger there than in other third areas.”
“I’m thinking of leveling my Servants and raising my level to 25+ before I challenge it again.”
“Hmm… enemies are mixed there, right? I wonder how they would react if we formed a party there.”
“That does make me curious. Well, we will eventually go there, so...”
I wasn’t told to go do the quest alone. Let’s decide based on my mood at the time. It seems like my goal for the time being is leveling?
“This should be about it for now, hm? I’ll be off to the new dungeon to level now!”
“Ohh, there. Please take care...”
I see off Ske-san as he goes to the dungeon, where should I go myself?
I beat the East, West, South and North bosses who acted as a kind of tutorial and unlocked each town’s portal. WIth this, my actions shouldn’t be restricted in any way.
Nnn… ahh, I used up my rib meat. Let’s go replenish it. In which case, I’m going to Belstead. So it’s East after all, hm. I jump through the portal in the Starting Town to Belstead.
I leave the town, moving outside and summon a skeleton and a red skelly. I give the red skelly #1 one-handed sword and large shield, #2 should be fine with a greatsword. The objectives are Piggs and Angus. Tokkeis from the forest in the South also sound nice. I found a way to use Troll’s magic stones, so hunting them isn’t bad, but first let’s secure some rib meat.
Let’s confirm once before I start serious hunting. I search for a single Angus and have #1 and #2 fight it. I did not summon #2 with extra cost, so red skelly #1 is the main.
Although it was dubious how gathering hate will work with first tier Skills, he is definitely stronger than a normal skeleton, so it should be alright.
Nn… looks like they are capable of hunting them. It feels like #2 is almost nonexistent, but it’s fine. Looks like I can pick a fight against links of up to two of them. As for the speed of beating them… I just need to attack as well, I already learned that red skelly won’t die even if he is targeted.
Now, it’s time to hunt. Let’s secure meat. Also, let’s make sure to let #1 and #2 fight as much as possible. I want to level my «Necromantic Secrets» Skill.
I will hunt for a while to gather materials. When I have a fair amount, I can use bodies to increase Capacity… just enough to throw food to consignment sometimes? It’s summer break now, let’s take my time and play hard.
There are two drops from Piggs, four from Angus… And the type of meat is random? So there’s less? Piggs gave two to four drops, Angus five to seven, didn’t they?
Nn… rabbits and wolves gave 1 Capacity. Piggs give 3 and Angus 6? They give pretty sweet Capacity.
They wrote that they corrected the meat drops, but didn’t they correct enemy sizes instead, which is why the drop table was off…?
Well, it is a static number now so it will be easier to calculate. And it’s also a byproduct of leveling, so let’s hunt.
I spent a few days taking my time hunting. It’s currently Wednesday morning.
[Ingredient] Angus Sirloin?Rarity: Ep?Quality: C
A valuable and luxurious meat that can be acquired from Angus in only small amounts.
Due to Angus’ harsh temper it’s a rare ingredient, often eaten by nobility.
Ideal for steaks, grilling and shabu-shabu.
It’s sirloin, SIRLOIN!
Furthermore, in a link of three 3 Angus, there was a black angus, aptly named Black Angus, and when I beat it...
[Ingredient] Black Angus’ Tenderloin?Rarity: Ep?Quality: C
A valuable and extremely luxurious meat that can be acquired from Black Angus in only small amounts.
Because of its extraordinary value, it’s rarely eaten even by royalty.
Ideal for steaks, roast beef and cutlets.
I received one tenderloin. Is it a rare drop from a rare mob? Let’s take screenshots of it and sirloin, then put it up on the cooking board.
Also, I did go to hunt some Tokkeis. Trolls? I absorbed them, rather than count on a magic stone drop, I prefer to get 9 capacity. Their normal drops are too trash. As for Tokkei, it’s really harsh that it drops only one piece of meat. I’m gathering a pointlessly large amount of feathers, should I change them into arrows? I could use that for leveling «Alchemycraft».
I can acquire chicken meat and hunt trolls for capacity. It takes a little to beat them but a single Troll being 9 capacity is pretty sweet.
And since I absorbed a Troll, I acquired its blueprint, but I can’t summon one yet. It seems to be a level 20 body, so my Skill level is insufficient.
I think my Skills are going up at a good pace for now.
«High-Class Magic Ability»
?Dual Spell?
Activates two of the same spell at the same time.
«Darkness Magic»
?Nox Wall?
Creates a wall of darkness which hinders enemy movements and deals damage when they pass through it.
«Necromantic Secrets»
?Force to Convert?
Uses the target’s MP to recover their HP. Can be only used on Undead and Immortals.
«Alchemycraft»
?Element Manipulation?
Moves an elemental attribute held by a Refined Magic Stone into a substance.
The result is strongly dependent on the target object’s magic aptitude and element aptitude.
?Dual Spell?is pretty useful. The effect is just as the description says. The important part, the MP consumption is double that of a normal cast. The consumption increases compared to shooting them one by one, but instantaneous firepower goes up by a lot. Also… it’s kind of difficult to hit both at the same place you targeted? Need to get used to it.?
?Nox Wall?is well, a wall spell you see often in games. It’s duration is so-so. The firepower itself is possibly the highest so far from all the spells, but unless enemies touch it they won’t receive damage. It’s all up to timing. Seems like enemies in general try to avoid it. It’s alright to make them rush onto it, and it’s also fine to push them onto it.
?Force to Convert?looks very valuable. It’s kind of bad on the MP consumption ratio, but it’s the type that slowly recovers HP and can be used on myself. It sounds good for using on Alf-san, who has spare MP. It’s dubious in mine and Ske-san’s cases though. It’s better to use?Force to Convert?on Servants than?Life Assignment?since there are less risks. But for instantaneous heals I still only have?Dark Heal?.
?Element Manipulation?is a mystery at this point, but I feel fantasy here. From things that come to my mind, there is transferring an elemental attribute into ingots and making something, or transferring an elemental attribute to a sword to make an elemental sword. Verification is necessary, I need to ask Master about this.
I think I gathered enough meat for the time being. I have 128 pork ribs, 93 beef ribs, 173 rumps. I also have 111 shank meat… if there was a problem, it would be that I only have 18 of wolf meat. I made jerkies with wolf after all… Jerkies made with rump… should I raise the price a little? And it might be interesting if I sold roast beef as is. Let’s use some rump.
Alright, let’s cook until lunch!
I open the Cooking Kit in Belstead’s central plaza.
What I’m making… is steaks made with rump, roast beef and… how about onion soup?
I can make jerkies and roast beef from a recipe, but… onion soup needs to be handmade. First, I need to make bouillon.
By the way, as for bouillon and fond, they are both used for soup. Fond is used for sauces only. They are made from slightly different ingredients.
I disable?Inventory Expansion?, proceed with preparations for jerkies and roast beef, then after throwing them inside the smoking cylinder and brick oven I start preparing bouillon
First, I prepare chicken meat, garlic, welsh onions and carrots. There are no leeks or celery, so I can’t prepare them.
I throw chicken in boiling water and have it boil lightly. In real it only takes five minutes, so in the game I have to pull it out right away… let’s prepare welsh onion, garlic and carrots.
I pour water inside the pot, then throw in chicken meat and vegetables. After the temperature went up to about 90 degrees, I lower the fire and maintain the temperature; time for ten hours of hellish observation. I make it easy by fast-forwarding with?Reaction Acceleration?. You should make things easy where you can, you know?
While confirming the meat in the smoking tool and brick oven, I remove scum and extra fat. This part is really quick and easy in game. This game isn’t just checking if you took it out, does it? Like, things you need to do otherwise quality will go down...
Jerkies and roast beef were finished, let’s put them away and replace with new ones.
?«Cook» reached level 15.?
?«Cook»’s Art?Magical Expert?was acquired.?
Oh, it went up to 15. Let’s see??Magic Expert?’s effect is… a passive Skill increasing the Satiety recovered by cuisine? This is nice. It wasn’t applied to jerkies and roast beef I just made, though!
So, I throw in new ones into the smoking tool and the brick oven, then I use butter to stir-fry welsh onion. I take my time until it’s amber??yellow and brown colored.
Then I put the bouillon I made earlier before stir-frying for a while, add salt and pepper to adjust the taste and it’s complete… but I also add the meat that I used for the bouillon. I remove the bones from meat… then I add baguettes and cheese as well. It will be Onion Gratin Soup, right. It will be necessary to add one more step to finish it, so I use?Set Menu?.
[Cuisine] Handmade Gratin Onion Soup?Rarity: No?Quality: B+
An onion soup that took a lot of effort to make.
Freshly-made baguettes, cheese and chicken meat were also added.
Taste's like mom’s? Warms up your body from the core.
Satiety +85
Additional Effect: Increases AGI by 5%.
Effect Duration: 5 hours
Prepared by: Anastasia
Onion soup increases AGI… there. When I used?Tableware?the tableware contents heading seemed to have been merged with cook heading to form“prepared by”
And the?Magic Expert?increased Satiety by more than twice? I feel like the price could be just multiplied… now, what do I do? In general cuisine’s price is based on Satiety, next by the ingredients used, then lastly by the amount of steps and the taste… since I’m selling those things and I have some confidence in the taste, it’s not that important.
If I simply multiply the price… 2200 will turn into 4400, and furthermore goes up by ×2.5 from the buff effect. So, 11000? Isn’t it too expensive?
If the number of people having this Art increases, the prices should calm down, but if it’s put too cheap other cuisine won’t sell… is what won’t happen? It will sell right away when I put it for sale anyway, and the number of players increased, too? ...Well, let’s make money while I still can.
Looks like the newly-made jerkies and roast beef are ready… Jerkies have 30, huh. They have Satiety on the level of normal cuisine despite being preserved foods, huh?
When I tried making steaks, their Satiety had increased from 35 to 70. Preserved foods are ×1.5 times? The normal food is two times normal? And?Set Menu?gets ×2.5 times the Satiety? I need to verify it eventually, but for now I need to clean up and put things on consignment.
The onion soup for 11000. Jerkies made with rump for 850. Roast beef for… it’s mostly an item for tasting rather than nourishment? Let’s sell it for 1000. Steaks for 2400.
Alright, let’s have lunch.