CH 75

Chapter 75 – Excuse me, are you Bucket?

“Thank you, Yuri! I love you!” Mika hugged me after I agreed to rent her the Dark Short Sword with Life Drain to her.

“Yeah yeah, but I’m still just renting it to you, alright? Once you can afford it, you should buy the item, just like what we agreed on for the Mysterious Sword, alright?” I replied.

“Of course! But it’s Yuri that we’re talking about, so I’m sure you’ll make an even stronger weapon before that.” Mika exclaimed.

Well, it’s definitely possible that I end up making a stronger weapon before she can save up the money to buy those swords…

“Hmm… I can’t quite deny this possibility, but Steel is the highest tier of gear that we know of, and I don’t think I can make swords as good as these without using a rare material that is as good as the Lich Bones, so I’m not sure if that will really be the case.” I told her.

“No worries, for you might get some new materials very soon!” Mika replied.

“Ah, at the auction, I guess?” I commented.

I mean… Considering that Lich Bones were dropped from a boss, I think the only way to get a material as good as that one would be to either defeat a new boss, buy it at the auction, or get it as a quest reward from a strong NPC Pioneer.

The auction seems like the most reasonable option among those, and while I am planning on putting an item up to be auctioned, I’d also like to buy some materials there… After all, I’d like to be able to make other items that might be as good as those swords.

“Well, there is that too, but I was actually talking about the Eku Labyrinth! We’re really close to finishing the exploration of its last floor!

“The huge gate that we can see from the floor’s entrance is probably a door to a boss room, so we’ll surely get some rare materials from clearing it!” Mika exclaimed.

“I see…” I replied.

Considering that Mika and her party are the ones spearheading the exploration of the dungeon, it’s quite possible that they might be the first to fight its boss indeed. Especially if they’re extremely close to the giant door by now.

Though we have no way of being sure if the gate is really a door to a boss room, do we? The Eku Labyrinth is the first dungeon unlocked in Frontiers so far, so we can’t be sure if it will really have a boss.

After all, the only boss we know about so far is the Lich… Though well, I’d say it’s quite likely to have a boss at the end of a dungeon, so I probably shouldn’t worry too much about it.

“Then, do sell me any rare materials you get.” I told Mika.

“Of course! You rented me not only the Mysterious Sword, but also the Dark Short Sword! There’s no way I could bring the materials anywhere else! Especially when you’re the only one that can make this kind of thing!

“Besides, I wasn’t planning on selling them to anybody else anyways!” Mika exclaimed.

“Then, I’m looking forward to it.” I replied.

“You can count on me!

“Then, I’m going to sleep, because I’m at my limit!

“Good night…” Mika told me, then started logging out.

“Yeah yeah, rest well.” I said.

Seems like she being unusually energetic for a morning was just her clinging to the excitement that she got from grinding all the way until dawn.

She probably ran out of fuel once we finished negotiating. She didn’t even leave my workshop before logging out, after all.

Well, that’s fine. I already granted her and Hime free entrance to my workshop, so she will still be inside once she logs in… Otherwise, the system would automatically kick her out on the next time she logged in, putting her right outside the workshop.

It’s a pretty useful security system to make sure nobody logs-in inside your buildings while you aren’t around, but it’s unnecessary for Mika and Hime who I have already granted permission to move around freely.

In any case, now that I have, as planned, lent the best Dark Short Sword to Mika, I should take the other one with three Options to Mr. Kederick.

Though it would be rude if I went there suddenly, so let’s make an appointment with him.

Well, it’s still midnight in-game, so I’m not making the appointment just yet. Mr. Kederick said it was fine to message him at any hour, but I still think it’s rude to message someone this late in the night, so let’s wait until the morning.

So, for now, let’s make more steel gear. My experiment took longer than expected, so I have yet to make anything to restock the store, so… Let’s get started!

******

After about five hours making steel gear, I sent a message to Mr. Kederick.

As usual, I couldn’t make much gear because of the large amount of materials that need to be processed… And as they are intermediate-tier materials, I can’t really rely on Summons to process them, as I don’t have enough skill level to guarantee their success.

That said, the level of my skills has been increasing steadily by processing the intermediate-tier materials, so I’m at least getting some Skill Points.

So, let’s go restock the store now. Even if I couldn’t make many items, I still need to get them evaluated at the Guild, so I don’t have time to make any more.

I’ll also update the store’s blog while I’m waiting for the gear to get evaluated.

I won’t list anything on the private section of the blog for acquaintances though, as I have yet to make any steel item with an Option in it.

So, let’s check my inventory to make sure I didn’t forget anything… Alright, it’s all good! Let’s go to the Guild!

******

August is almost over, so it seems quite a few people logged in to enjoy the last period of summer vacation at Frontiers.

Well, there were still more players online during the time the Obon festival was going on… Though there is also a timing issue to take into account. Most working adults can’t log-in at this hour. I should try comparing the numbers again at the evening.

In any case, while I waited for the gear to get evaluated at the Guild, I received a reply from Mr. Kederick.

He said he was surprised that I contacted him this quickly, but he also said that it was good that I was able to finish it early, so he told me to come see him at any time that the store is open.

Then, let’s finish restocking the store and immediately go to the Kederick Shop.

Though I was still waiting until my gear finished getting evaluated… And this time, it felt like there were even more eyes glaring at me.

It’s probably because I’m the only person making steel gear though. Not to mention how hard it is to buy those pieces of gear due to me being unable to produce them in large quantities.

That much can’t be helped, but… Even then, why are there so many people staring at me? There weren’t this many yesterday.

I wonder if something happened? I guess I could try checking the forums to see if I find anything.

******

“Excuse me, are you Bucket?” A Pioneer unusually spoke to me while I browsed the forums.

“Yes? That’s me, but…” I started replying.

Looking at the Pioneer, I could see that he had a bit of steel gear, even if the majority of what he was wearing was still made of iron.

He was also carrying a large steel shield, so he was probably a tank.

As for the people behind him, they were probably his party members, and they were all using either iron gear or light gear.

… What are they approaching me for? It’s well-known by now that I refuse all crafting requests that come from people that aren’t my acquaintances. Being persistent about it will just get you banned from my store, and you might even get chased by the guards depending on how much confusion you cause.

It’s been really rare for strangers to talk to me these days, so this felt quite unusual.

“We’re from the clan Gospel, and our party is currently exploring the deepest floor of the Eku Labyrinth.” He told me.

“Oh, is that so?” I replied.

So they are trying to compete with Mika to see who clears the dungeon first? Mika has much better gear though, so I think she and her party will finish it before those guys.

“We often sell the materials we get at the Eku Labyrinth at your store, and this Large Steel Shield is a true boom to our effectiveness, so…

“I just wanted to thank you for all that you have done. We will continue selling high-rank materials to your store, so please keep on doing your best.” The man said, then gave a small bow to me.

“Ah, I see… Thank you for your patronage then.” I replied.

“Well then.” After saying this, the man turned around and left.

“Ah, bye.” I said.

Seems like he didn’t want to request anything, so I felt a bit stupid for being wary of him…

His party members also bowed a bit to me, then waved their hands while smiling before leaving.

Well, it doesn’t feel bad to be thanked like this… Or rather, it feels nice to be useful.

So, please sell me more materials!

******

Once all the gear I made was evaluated at the Guild and I finished restocking the store, I bought some souvenirs, then went to the Kederick Shop.

I wonder if it’s possible to satisfy Mr. Kederick with this weapon? I’m a bit worried, but I won’t be able to know the answer if I don’t show it to him.

I mean, it’s definitely not at the level of the Mysterious Sword, but it is still pretty good when compared to Steel Short Swords…

And well, it may not be an Original item, as it was already named, but it’s still a weapon I never saw anywhere else.

Moreover, it is an item with three Options, so… Well, let’s just show it to him, and give up on it if he refuses to put it on the auction.

After all, I already spent most of my Lich Bones, so I can’t afford spending the rest of them on the attempts to make new swords…

Well, I knew it was a risky attempt from the start, so… Let’s just go! Without hesitation!