Chapter 79

<078. +5%>

D/Z SAGA Fan Cafe.

A game cafe, in reality, isn't such a grand community. In fact, South Korea's game strategy sites can be seen as divided into a few factions, and the best community varied depending on the game.

But I can confidently say that the cafe I ran was the biggest for D/Z SAGA.

Being the first and lifetime administrator was a lot of work.

I had to clean up messes and take notes on the members I liked, among countless other tasks.

Especially when the novel board manager and the fan art board manager started eyeing each other and formed a close-knit line, splitting the cafe into two, I really thought I was going to die.

I told them to have a good, heartfelt love and cut the factionalism cleanly. The members' reviews were, "Let's start praising 'Super Youngjin' now." Luckily, it ended well.

Anyway, this is a story from when I was living as the beloved cafe master 'Super Youngjin.'

- EveDanTotalGathering: What do you do on your days off, Youngjin?

- Super Youngjin: I play games.

- EveDanTotalGathering: ㄷ; Don't you do anything else? Do you have anything to do? What about Moji? Mo-ham?? Did you not even survive the first act with Rudica???

- Super Youngjin: I'm raising Eve physically to see the true ending. I've reached Act 7. It's really hard to give up and start over when the kids are about to die.

- EveDanTotalGathering: ㅁㅊ; You're raising her to die???

- YouShouldCallMeSierra: What, are you and Youngjin-sama in a close-knit group? EveDan is so likable;

- EveDanTotalGathering: ㄴ It seems like you're always in the cafe for 24 hours;; Check the chat logs;; Youngjin-sama is doing some really weird stuff ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

- YouShouldCallMeSierra: ㅁㅊ ㅅㅂ; You're raising Eve as a physical character?? And aiming for full survival?? What?? Are?? You?? Doing???

- Super Youngjin: Because I want to.

EveDanTotalGathering: Oh; That's so you;;;

YouShouldCallMeSierra: You're amazing;;;;;;;; Wow;;;;;;;;

From then on, my famous quote became "Because I want to." Anyway, it's an old memory.

So, why did I end up living like this?

Why did I only play this damn game to death?

‘…With Kelthers, I just wanted to… laugh a little more…’

That's because the first heroine I killed was the one who planted a thorn in my heart and disappeared.

Anyway, the story I want to tell is that even while I was raising Eve as a physical character and aiming for the true ending, I had my own strict rules.

If a character in my party seemed like they were going to die, I would turn off the game and start over from the beginning.

That was the playstyle of the hardcore player I Youngjin, and the conclusion of a genuine game enthusiast who had fully immersed himself in the characters.

There were a few more rules, but anyway.

When Jeffrin and D/Z SAGA unfolded in front of me in reality, I tried to put those thoughts aside.

Reality had always been harsh to me, so even if the game became reality, I thought I should live for myself.

But when Aila joined my party, the little Super Youngjin inside me asked, "What will you do when Aila is in danger?"

No one remembered… the 29-year-old youth who was hit by a convenience store delivery truck and died.

Even though I had accepted myself as Wolfram and was trying to live as Wolfram, I couldn't shake off the small question from Super Youngjin.

“Hmm.”

It's not a grand resolution, but now that it's come to this.

I just can't bear to see Aila leave the stage in Act 3.

“I have to do what I can.”

***

The next day.

Strangely, the combination of Aila and Rudica showed up.

To be precise, they didn't come together, but they met as they came.

“Wolfram. I'm here.”

“Wolfram! Rudica is here!”

Aila and Rudica had become somewhat friendly since the last field trip.

“It's getting warmer. It's the end of May, and if it's like this already, I'm worried about June.”

“Hmm, is it? It's getting warmer. Rudica doesn't really know about such things.”

“Is that so? You don't seem to be affected by the heat?”

“…Hmm. I don't feel it at all. I don't really know about cold or heat.”

Aila was fanning herself with her hand, while Rudica tilted her head. While Aila is one thing, Rudica's lack of sensitivity to heat was likely due to special training.

I made some drinks for the two of them. Since Rudica doesn't know about cold or heat, I prepared something very new.

“Wolfram, what is this?”

“It's a drink with ground cinnamon beans.”

“Does it have any effect?”

“…After the sweetness, there's a hidden spiciness.”

“…! Wolfram is indeed Rudica's best companion!”

After that, Rudica gulped down the drink and started muttering, “The spiciness is good. Hmm. This gets a perfect score.” “I want to invite Wolfram to the Shadow family someday. He must learn from the family's chefs!”

After finishing the drink, Rudica nodded with a smile.

“Thank you! Wolfram! Rudica is satisfied!”

“…Hmm.”

If she can use words like spiciness and inviting, I should do something about her subtle language system.

What should I say now? Could you try to change that way of speaking a bit…?

“By the way, Miss Rudica, you came to the magic department to deal with magic, right? Have you learned anything?”

“Hmm. I think I can now be called a 6th Tier mage. Or rather, I am one.”

“I see. So you've probably handled dummies with 6th Tier defensive magic?”

“…Hmm. Something like that. They were like dummies… Yes. There was no satisfaction in the fight.”

….

Rudica just has a biased knowledge of language.

Wolfram is a good boy with only one life.

“Ah, senpai! I'm here! It's a bit hot! Do you have anything refreshing?”

“Ah, hello. Senpai Wolfram…”

Nefte and Milteau came after them, and the four regulars, now a fixed group, started chatting at a table.

As usual, they ordered one drink and one meal and spent four hours in the convenience store before preparing to leave.

As they left one by one, just before Aila left, something came to mind.

“Aila.”

“Yes, Wolfram.”

“How's your equipment situation?”

“…Huh? Equipment?”

“Ah, I misspoke. When you're in battle. Your weapons, armor, and accessories. Can you tell me about them?”

“Hmm…? I don't know why you're curious, but I don't usually use weapons when casting spells.”

“Isn't it more efficient to use them?”

“Ah… Staffs or magic bangles rarely have good effects. There are a lot of fakes… I just rely on myself in battle.”

“…I see.”

“And my civilian clothes… you know? The white blouse and black skirt. They are enchanted to some extent, with a purification effect.”

“…And accessories?”

“I don't have any enchanted accessories. But why?”

“No, it's nothing. I just asked a strange question.”

“Hehe. See you tomorrow, Wolfram.”

“Hmm. Be careful on your way back. Since this is the last regular bus for Parteaus today, you can ask to be dropped off at the Glasterheim dormitory.”

“…Thank you for your kindness.”

Aila said this with a smile and left the convenience store.

After confirming that there was no one around, I sighed deeply.

“Equipment, huh.”

The shock was so great that I almost blurted out something that would barely keep a 1st Tier royal bloodline within limits.

If someone told me to give Aila this equipment and get through Act 3, I would have the confidence to bash their head with a keyboard.

***

A few days later.

A delivery person from Maestro and Triestar arrived.

“The total amount is 8 million rin.”

“The amount here is 13 million rin.”

“Hmm. Let me check the amount.”

A purchase of over 20 million rin.

Considering the money I have now, it's quite a large expense.

But it was a necessary expense given the timing.

Moreover, considering the world's prices, this is really a bargain.

Looking at the roughly processed gemstones and metal frames laid out before me, I nodded.

In the game, even the lowest-grade gems weren't this expensive, but considering that monsters might appear in the mines, it's quite a high price.

Unlike the game, where mass-produced items with standardized effects are made in factories, here, everything is handmade, so the labor costs make the frames a reasonable price.

Anyway, looking at the mountain of metal frames and gemstones, what I intended to do was very simple.

Just simple labor. In game terms, it's called grinding.

【Accessory Crafting】

【Crafting an accessory.】

【What would you like to craft?】

Wearable.

That is, crafting accessories with magic enchantments that can be equipped in the equipment slot.

In the game, these are called enchanted accessories, or "mabu accessories" for short.

Anyway, these mabu accessories are different from those used for decoration or character flair.

…For example, the fake graduation ring used for Zolf's ascension is on a completely different track.

【Brooch selected.】

【A special recipe can imbue the brooch with mysterious power!】

To enchant, two materials are required.

One is a mineral that can be considered a 'gem.' The other is the 'metal frame surrounding the gem.'

In other words, to make a ring, a gem must be embedded in the center, and the gem must be surrounded by metal.

In other words, if you set the growth direction of accessory crafting to wearable mabu accessories, the skill becomes a money-sucking monster for leveling up. It's a really crazy skill.

But, I have to do it.

I turned on the skill, placed a gem in front of me, and pushed it into the frame.

After doing this quickly three times, a message appeared before me.

【Brooch crafting successful.】

【Brooch crafting successful.】

【Mysterious brooch crafting successful.】

“【Item Appraisal】”

【A brooch imbued with a faint light magic blessing.】

【9T】

【A brooch that slightly increases the output of the user's light magic. Otherwise, it's not much.】

…Hmm.

It's a rather subtle performance, but the fact that a mabu accessory was created is encouraging.

After making three, I kept the one with the enchantment and then took the other two, and with a pop, I extracted the gems in the center.

The gems popped out, and the brooches were separated back into frames and gems.

“Hmm. It seems to be an extraction run.”

Yes. This is the grinding method that uses extraction to return crafted accessories to their original materials.

Craft, if it's not enchanted, extract, and enchant again.

You might ask if you can just keep doing this in a loop…

【Item decomposition failed!】

【The item is destroyed!】

The metal frame was torn apart with a squish, and the gem shattered.

It wasn't due to my strength. It was a mistake penalty that made it explode on its own.

It's a really unfair thing.

“Phew.”

My head is spinning. Accessory crafting consumes 0.5 mana per skill use, and item appraisal consumes the same amount. Even after drinking the mana potion Aila bought me, I lost 3 mana, leaving me with only 1 mana, which I just recovered.

Accessory crafting is a magic skill, so there's a burden to using it continuously.

“Still, I have to do it.”

The metal frames and gems stacked in a burlap sack in the corner.

If I make all of these into brooches, at least something useful will come out.

“It's good that I'm doing this for Aila, but… it's a daunting task.”

As I grumbled and started crafting again, a fanfare rang in my head.

【Accessory crafting great success!】

【Congratulations! An item of an unbelievable level for your current skill has been created!】

【A brooch imbued with a subtle power has been successfully crafted!】

…Huh?

Why is this showing up?

“Wasn't the great success rate for skill level 1 around 0.00075%?”

Did I beat that probability?

No. There must have been some additional bonus.

It's not a probability that can be beaten so easily.

“Oh. Oh. I see. It's because Aila is in my party…!”

I see.

Aila and I are in a party.

And the party option is…

【Due to the excellent talent of a party member, a +5% bonus is applied to all magical actions!】

【Due to the excellent talent of a party member, a +5% bonus is applied to the great success rate of all magical actions!】

In other words, this great success is due to Aila being in my party, which led to a great success in accessory crafting.

‘Ahem! I won't be a hindrance to Wolfram. We are partners in rebellion, after all?’

In my head, Aila clenched her fists at her waist, puffed out her cheeks, and smiled brilliantly.

“…Yeah. That might be true.”

Muttering a response to no one, I stared at the brooch and appraised it.

“I don't know what will come out. If it's subtle, it should at least be a 7th Tier creation message….”

I hope an accessory suitable for its owner comes out.