Chapter 9

It has been two weeks since Hayato recruited Esha and Ash.

A clan can have up to ten members. Hayato tried to gather the remaining seven members but unfortunately failed. Mercenaries were too expensive, and negotiations with strong NPCs did not result in them joining.

However, that problem has been resolved.

Seven members from Ash's mercenary group will participate in the clan war. Ash, who learned about Hayato's situation, wanted to prove that Hayato is not a burden.

For Hayato, it didn't matter whether he was a burden or not, but he accepted the proposal. The members for the clan war need to be decided a week before the battle. If the deadline is missed, no one can be added to the clan, and the current members will have to fight.

After the opponent is determined, the remaining week is for planning. For players who focus on combat, this is the time to think about coordination and strategies with the members. Hayato, however, is a crafter. His main job is to prepare items before the clan war begins.

First, the cooking. Generally, players' stats and skills are optimized. The difference comes from the player's physical abilities, equipment, and the food that enhances their abilities.

The standard meal for warriors is Dragon Steak, which increases attack power by 50% for 30 minutes. Top clans definitely prepare this. Hayato can make even more powerful Mang Meat and currently has three pieces. However, he decided not to use them this time.

Hayato's newly formed clan is, of course, at the lowest F rank. Since this is a random match, the opponent will also be at F rank.

Hayato plans to check the opponent, but he doesn't think an F-rank clan can prepare Dragon Steak.

Therefore, he decided to prepare Rock Bird Skewers, which can be made with inexpensive materials.

Rock Birds are large monster birds that are difficult to defeat, but they drop a lot of "Rock Bird Meat," making it possible to obtain them cheaply. Sometimes, they are even sold at a discount to avoid cluttering item bags or storage.

Rock Bird Skewers increase attack power by 20% for 30 minutes. Hayato thought this would be sufficient for this battle.

Next, the Melon Juice that Esha requested. It's a juice-type dish that instantly restores MP, but the melons are expensive. Orange Juice has the same effect, but Esha insisted, so Hayato reluctantly gathered the materials.

However, Hayato isn't that bothered. He wants to thank Esha for the new recipes, which turned out to be high-performance. He vowed to make Orange Juice next time.

Next, the equipment. Esha, Ash, and the mercenary group members all have their own equipment.

Hayato doesn't need to prepare new equipment, but he wondered if the durability was sufficient.

In this game, equipment has a durability value that decreases with use. When it reaches 0, the equipment breaks, even if it's a high-performance rare item. When it breaks, some materials remain, but not enough to repair it. Therefore, it's necessary to repair the equipment before it breaks.

After preparing the food, Hayato moved to the first floor of the log house. It was time for Ash to bring the Elixir materials.

"Good, Ash is here too. If you have any equipment you want repaired, give it to me. I'll take care of it."

"Sure. Take off your clothes. That's harassment."

"No, that kind of reaction is really troublesome. The purpose is to repair the equipment, so please stop."

(If my account gets suspended for harassment, what will I do? No, am I being harassed? Which is it?)

"Hey, stop bothering Hayato. You're just teasing him, right?"

"My master reacts so well, I can't help but tease him. You really are my master."

"Why isn't that making me happy? Anyway, it's not harassment, but what should I do? My sewing and blacksmithing skills are both at the max level of 100, so I can repair clothes and armor perfectly."

"Don't worry, Master. My maid uniform has a self-repair function, so it will be like new after a day. The same goes for this White Brim and maid apron. They are masterpieces."

"That seems like a waste of a master's skill. Self-repair is a very rare effect, but it's on a maid uniform. Who made it?"

The self-repair effect is said to have a less than 1% chance of appearing when creating items. Even with self-repair, the equipment will break if the durability reaches 0, but it can be removed before it breaks, making it a valuable effect.

"My equipment doesn't need much repair. It has a special effect that prevents durability from decreasing."

"Right, I remember."

(Dragon Eater and the Death Dragon Armor set. Indeed, those don't lose durability.)

Hayato saw Ash's status a few days ago and also saw his equipment.

Unlike Esha, Ash had a normal skill setup, the same as regular players. However, his equipment was different. It was better than even the best legendary weapons.

The Dragon Eater, a large sword, deals five times the damage to dragons and has a Blood Weapon effect that absorbs part of the damage dealt to restore HP. It also restores the durability of equipment, making it a cheat weapon. Hayato had to rub his eyes several times to confirm its effects.

The Death Dragon Armor. Ash wore Death Dragon-named armor on his upper body, lower body, arms, and legs. Each piece is high-performance, but wearing all four grants a set bonus.

The set bonus is a hidden effect that activates when related equipment is worn.

The set bonus from the Death Dragon Armor series is Physical Immunity, which makes the wearer invulnerable to physical attacks for one minute. While it doesn't protect against non-physical attacks like fire, it makes the wearer invulnerable for one minute, another cheat effect.

(If no damage is taken, durability doesn't decrease. Even with a cooldown, it's an impossible effect. But this is a trump card. I'll ask him not to use it in this clan war. It's for fighting top clans.)

"However, Hayato, I don't need my equipment maintained, but I have a request."

"A request?"

"Can you prepare a full set of equipment for the mercenary group members? They have their own equipment, but they're not good at maintenance, so it's quite worn out. Of course, I'll provide the materials."

"Oh, that's it. Sure, no problem. Just give me the materials, and I'll start right away."

"Thanks. I'll have them bring the materials immediately."

It was decided that Hayato would start working on the equipment as soon as the materials arrived. He received the Elixir materials from Ash and returned to his room to prepare potions.

The Elixir he is making to help Ash's sister is not yet at the highest quality, as evident from the materials Ash provided. However, most of it can be made at three-star quality, which would still make Ash happy.

Elixirs are common in top clans, just like Dragon Steak. However, Hayato often prepared the highest-quality potions in his previous clan.

This is because the cooldown is 0, and there's a 10% chance of making them. Producing a large number of potions that can be consumed consecutively. Hayato doesn't fight, but he believes they are undoubtedly strong. This is evidenced by the good reputation he had among his previous clan members.

(I wonder how the other clan is doing. To mass-produce the highest-quality potions, I need this pendant. I should have explained it better. Well, I left some in stock, so this clan war should be fine.)

With a slight sense of unease, Hayato began mass-producing potions.