Chapter 79

【-- Score calculation begins. No points will be added for actions taken after this. Results will be announced after the calculation. This is a repeat announcement.]

I woke up to the commotion around me, feeling a slight hunger and the fatigue of oversleeping as I checked the situation.

Oh, my hunger level has decreased. Checking the time, it was 6:00 AM on the final day. It seems I had slept for nearly eighteen hours.

Looking at myself, I saw a thin cloth had been draped over me, and the pomegranate I had been holding and the Liu Yi I had been leaning on were already awake, apparently waiting for me to wake up.

"Ah, good morning. Liu Yi and the pomegranate."

"You're awake, Yun."

"Claude. It's the final day today, right? It feels both long and short."

"Indeed. There's still time before the results are announced, and Magi and the others are waiting."

"Ah."

"And here—this is the reward you missed yesterday."

Saying that, Claude casually handed me the item, which was the reward Sei had offered me. However, it seemed to have been slightly altered due to my use as a decoy.

The name had changed to something NPC-like, a stone mask—Mask of Pebble. Is that it? In the game, NPCs can be as insignificant as pebbles on the road. Or is it a satire on the mask's design, which can't quite become a pebble?

There were also voice-changing earrings and bracelets, and other cursed equipment.

I was happy to have a variety of unique items and cursed equipment.

And I had been eagerly waiting.

"With this, I have all the books."

"That's great."

"...Did you read them while I was sleeping?"

"I'm not that low. I'm the type who wants to read the games and books I buy first, but I don't want to take away someone else's joy."

"That's a noble attitude. If you want to read them later, I can lend them to you..."

"Don't worry, I've already completed all of them."

I guess they exchanged items for them. They must have collected them more efficiently than I did.

"Hey, Yun-kun. Over here, over here."

Magi and the others, who had been waiting around the campfire. Looking around, everyone seemed sleepy despite it being early morning.

"Good morning."

"Good morning. Seriously, you didn't go back to your bed and just kept sleeping. We were worried because you wouldn't wake up no matter how many times we called you, Yun."

"Sorry."

I smiled wryly, thinking I had caused unnecessary worry.

"Still, everyone seems to be in a post-all-nighter mood. Did something happen?"

"Hmm. They had a party to celebrate the boss's defeat and continued hunting at night because the remaining time was precious. Ah, I'll have some herbal tea. I want to feel refreshed."

"Understood. What about Claude and Reiri?"

"I'll have some."

"Sure. I'll have some too."

Saying that, I took out the herbal tea from my inventory and passed it around, taking a deep breath.

The refreshing aroma of the herbal tea helped clear my still heavy head.

I must have let my guard down a bit, as some people suddenly intruded on my moment of happiness.

"Hey, you're finally awake. Great work!"

A heavy weight pressed on my back, and an arm wrapped around my neck. I instinctively shouted at the person with a sports-like attitude and a familiar voice.

"Mikazuchi!? Stop it. You're heavy!"

"Huh? What's the problem? It doesn't cost anything."

It does cost something. The metal chest plate is pressing into my back, stimulating my pain receptors and sapping my energy.

"Mikazuchi, don't bully our Yun."

"Sei. Fine. Here."

I was released, and I looked up at him with a resentful gaze, and he looked a bit sheepish.

"So, what do you want? What's up with me?"

"Can I ask you something? About the secret behind that chain spell."

"Oh, that."

Come to think of it, he did say something like that. Really, if you push him, he might drop useful information he's not even aware of.

I sent a silent plea for help to Claude and Magi, but Claude shook his head, indicating it was impossible, while Magi suggested I could just brush it off with a smile. They both looked at me with their own silent messages.

I crossed my arms and sighed, feeling like it didn't matter anymore, and I tried to be vague.

"Sure. By the way, as an advertisement, I sell enchantment stones at my shop, which temporarily boost stats. Take a look at them for reference. You'll have to find the rest on your own."

"Is that so? You sell them, huh... Hey, Miss Yun. If we buy the magic spells, would you produce and sell them?"

"No way. Absolutely not."

It's not a matter of selling or not; I can't consistently deliver. Enchantment stones require stone as a material, but Magic Gems need small gems or better materials.

Given the current situation, where no one is collecting gems in large quantities, it's inevitably time-consuming. Additionally, production, which consumes MP, can't be done in bulk, which also takes time.

The Magic Gem was a discovery made through trial and error, and it's one of my combat advantages.

It wouldn't be worth it to cheaply sell my advantage just by spending time.

"Then there's no choice. I'll try various senses. Well, Sei, let's go."

"Then, Yun. See you later. I'll visit your shop next time."

"Sure, come early. And if you find any stones from different places, bring them to the shop."

I said, throwing it over my shoulder, and he raised a hand in response.

"Seriously, do you know how much time I spend making those?"

"Hahaha, only the person who does the work understands the effort."

Reiri's dry laugh and words had a strange persuasive power.

"When you're a producer, sometimes people say things without considering your situation, but Mikazuchi understands and backs off, which is good."

"Is that so?"

I felt like I was being lectured by the younger Reiri, but we chatted while waiting for the results.

We talked about who would get the unique items we had obtained, what a young beast was, and other things.

"By the way... what exactly is a familiar?"

The moment I said that, an atmosphere of "What is he talking about?" spread.

"Yun, didn't you have the [Taming] sense?"

"Um, I chose it randomly at first, and it's unpopular and a dead sense, so it's still level 1."

A dead sense. Labeled as difficult to use, and not something I urgently needed to learn, so I hadn't investigated it much.

"Hmm. A familiar, or support mob, is a character that can join the battle when given instructions..."

Magi, unsure of where to start, crossed her arms.

"Hmm, what do you want to know, Yun-kun?"

"Right now, I'm not interested in how to tame or the effects of the sense, but rather the types and such."

"In that case, it's better to check the senses. Senses are the core of this game."

Claude gave an example.

The initial senses of herbivorous beasts near the first town are [Beast Lv1] and [Herbivore Lv1]. As you level up, you automatically gain, derive, and grow several senses.

The strength of a familiar is determined by the senses it possesses.

"Also, there aren't many people with the Taming sense, but there's an expectation that rare monsters might have their own unique senses."

"Hmm. So, those rare ones are these?"

Looking in the direction of her gaze, there were adorable young beasts. Yeah, they're cute, regardless of being rare.

"So, if the sense is Beast or Insect, it's that type."

"Pretty broad, isn't it?"

But there seem to be many types of senses, like demons, angels, inanimate objects, and slimes.

I put my hand to my chin, thinking about the possibilities, and the three of them watched me with a smile.

【-- Score transmission】

The reactions to the results sent were a mix of excitement, regret, resignation, wry smiles, and disappointment, but everyone eventually met their companions with a clear expression.

"Well, let's see my results—"

At the top of my results, there was a large message.

【Congratulations on placing (4/2396)】

I was surprised to see myself placed and froze. Seeing my reaction, Claude smiled amusedly, and I glared at him resentfully, but he started talking as if it didn't matter.

"There are also detailed contents of the scores. You can feel the efforts to ensure fairness."

I skimmed through the contents, and indeed, there were efforts to ensure fairness.

Senses not obtained [4000P]

Empty party member slots [40000P]

Since four people didn't obtain senses, it's 1000P per person, and 20000P is added for each missing party member. However, looking at other items, it seems that 20000P per party member is a very high number, so it might be set low.

Furthermore, as I read on, there were many points added for production: weapon production [24500P], armor production [17500P], and potion production [18200P].

There were also points for defeating enemies and unique bosses.

"Bonus treasure chest [3000P]... Is it okay to get points and items?"

"Probably because it's a high-difficulty content. Look, your diving [500P] isn't that high. Diving itself isn't that important; the result is what matters. There were similar bonus treasure chests in the mountains, but the means were mountain climbing."

"Hmm. And... cooking production [21000P]!? Isn't the rate off!?"

"No, it's just that you made a lot. The rate per item is less than weapons and armor, but you made a lot."

As I said that, I kept scrolling through the items. Points for team negotiations, team cooperation, participating in event boss battles, and exploiting weaknesses kept increasing.

And at the end of the results, there was a surprisingly high rate.

"Friendly young beast [100000P]... Isn't that a bit off?"

"That's probably about the young beast you partnered with. 20000P per beast. Well, it seems the game is pushing related senses in the future."

I don't want to read too much into the game's behind-the-scenes.

"Well, this is the result of everyone's hard work. Good job for the week."

"Yep. We could only do this with this team! Building a house, hunting, cooking... it was fun!"

Hearing Magi and Reiri's words, I felt my facial muscles relax, thinking it was enjoyable and good.

"But, Yun, you haven't forgotten, right?"

"What do you mean?"

Suddenly, Magi smiled slyly, and I asked her genuinely, wondering if I had forgotten something.

"Placers get limited items. What do you think they are?"

"Well, probably items that won't break the game balance?"

That's all I could say. In reality, the game wouldn't give top players items that would break the balance. The contents of the bonus treasure chest were modified weapons, so there wouldn't be a direct balance issue.

"For example, a special home or something?"

"Eh, buildings like shops and guilds are treated as homes... I don't really need one."

"Uh..."

Reiri's reasonable point left me speechless.

So, what could it be? As I thought about it, another email arrived. It was from the game operators again. It would be more efficient to send all the information at once, but this is just bureaucratic and troublesome.

【-- Congratulations on placing. Please choose one of the following items as your placement reward. The chosen item will be immediately added to your inventory】

"Seems like a selection. Placement reward."

"Well, it's good that the operators don't just decide for us. Giving weapons to producers like us would be a problem."

Claude, who said that, soon had a serious expression.

I also read through the items: 'Legendary weapon with usage limit', 'Quasi-legendary weapon for long-term use', 'Modified weapon with magical materials' for weapons, and similar choices for armor.

There were also field-related items like 'Special home expansion rights', 'Personal field ownership rights', and 'Personal dungeon creation rights'.

And—

"—The 'Making Box' for producers."

That's what caught my interest.

It's a workbench that delivers one random material of the chosen type per day, has a setting change function, and can duplicate materials placed in a dedicated slot once a day.

In other words, if you want potion ingredients, you can set it to herbs and get random herbs. If you want metals for accessories, you can set it to metals and get random metal ores.

The appearance rate varies by rank, and the duplication function isn't perfect; the original item doesn't disappear, but the higher the rank, the more likely it is to fail. You can change the delivery settings, but potions are mass-produced, and potion ingredients aren't just herbs; they also include monster parts, so there's no immediate benefit, and it's not very practical.

"The usability isn't great, but it's very interesting."

"That's good. I might choose that too."

"Ah, I'll choose that too."

Magi and Reiri also seemed interested in the Making Box. But it was a bit surprising.

"You two are surprising. I thought you'd get field rights and gather materials in your personal areas."

"Ah, I was interested in field rights at first, but it's not like you can gather rare materials. It's faster to buy from someone than to search for metals all the time. I can also make equipment that fits someone's needs. I'll ask for materials as needed to ensure production time. Time is money, you know."

"I prefer to make unique weapons with rare materials that occasionally appear and give them to someone."

Listening to the two of them talk with bright smiles, I felt a sense of admiration. In contrast, Claude was more serious.

"I see. Then, Claude?"

"Hmm. The romance of becoming a dungeon master with dungeon creation. But with a three-month public period... I'll choose that too."

He seemed to have thought about it a lot but quickly decided, prioritizing long-term benefits. Even if high-level materials are generated, they might not be usable in the current situation. Leveling up by handling them with the risk of failure could be a method.

"All four of us chose the same thing."

We each made our choices based on cost-benefit, but Reiri's innocent smile was healing.

We sent our requests back and confirmed the receipt of the Making Box.

Then, the final announcement of the results.

【-- The contract between young beasts and players will now begin.】

The final event began quietly.