Chapter 56

As the number of PVs increased, reports of past typos also increased.

Thank you to everyone who has reported them.

I try to avoid typos, but there are many.

I apologize for the inconvenience.

From the northwest gate square, it's evening, and I'm in the middle of a class with the Iron Welcome faction. It's Herman here. The current time is midnight, and it's the time to change shifts for the camp. In this world, there are no alarm clocks, so the change of guard is done roughly. ...Well, there are magic clocks, but not everyone has one, and since there's no alarm function, the timing can shift. So, when one of the party members wakes up, they wake everyone else up. By the way, I was the one who was woken up. Glen was the one who woke everyone up. I'm confident that if I hadn't been woken up, I would have slept soundly until morning. ...I guess I need to get used to this.

Now, our group is switching with Group 1. There are also groups switching with Group 2, but it seems that the third-year parties are in charge of that. We look for the designated night watch party. It's my job to find them. I'm the only one with night vision goggles, so I can find them quickly, report to the leader, and the leaders will discuss and take over the night watch. I wonder if any monsters will attack.

I'm in charge of reconnaissance with my night vision goggles. ...There are no shadows of goblins coming this way. It seems that there's another raid fighting in the distance. I can't see them, but I can hear the goblins' screams. ...I hope they don't come this way, I hope they don't come this way. Well, even if I hope they don't come, they will if they're coming.

"Right front, five, goblins are slowly coming this way."

"Got it. ...Are they going to the neighboring party?"

"...It's a bit close, but they might be a little closer to us."

"Got it. Everyone, prepare for battle. ---I can see them faintly. Ted, shine the light."

"Okay. ---Light."

We've already talked to the neighboring party. We agreed that the enemies we shine the light on will be dealt with by us. This way, there won't be any disputes, and the other parties will know that there's a battle there. ...Actually, it's better not to use it. Since there are amateurs, it's a desperate measure to prevent a two-party encounter. Injuries from monsters are acceptable, but injuries from other parties are not.

Our formation is the same as in the evening, Rapid Stream. This formation seems to fit best this time. We can stop and surround a big monster in the center when it comes. We quickly dispose of the goblins and return to our designated position. Hmm, monsters don't sleep. They are born from magic, and they are truly mysterious creatures.

After about four hours, it's time to change shifts. We've killed 23 goblins since then, but that's all. Well, a quiet night watch is better. The leaders were discussing something, but let's go to sleep right away. Good night.

In the morning, everyone is supposed to wake up individually. ...Habits are scary. It's still around 11:45 PM. My body has learned to wake up at this time. There are about five wells lined up in the northwest gate square for some reason. They are also quite far apart... There might be more wells further back that we can't see from the wall. There are also many wells on the east gate side. ...It might be that the Iron Welcome faction people made them on their own.

Now, everyone is supposed to prepare their own breakfast. I wash my face and meat at the well and have a meat porridge. I've made the dried meat with spices other than salt, ...only in the Omond barony. The royal domain also grows some, but not enough for preservation. Probably only enough for the nobles to waste. However, this makes me want to set up a shop in the Omond barony. Because of the food. I think the food level in the Omond barony is higher because they have been given various seeds. I estimate that food accounts for about 40% of the standard of living, so it's a delicious territory for me. ...If I'm in doubt, I'll go to the Omond barony. I'll do that.

After finishing the meal and cleaning up, we fold the tents and wait for about 30 minutes. In the magic realm, tents are folded every time. ...I have no place to put the necklace with the finger magic stone. Well, we just move towards the wall. And the return and stay are not necessarily with the same raid. The next alchemists are also coming, so our position is gradually pushed to the side. ...Every time we move to the side, we make a well, so there are so many wells at this gate. Probably the work of the alchemists.

"Now, we'll be hunting all day. What pace should we take?"

"Let's defeat them every time we encounter them. With so many people, I don't think the monsters will spawn fast enough if we go a little deeper. ...There are also first-time magic realm groups. Monsters spawn unexpectedly, but not right next to people. They usually spawn about 30 meters away. So, in the shallows, it's safe to assume that no monsters will spawn until the afternoon when all the adventurers have passed by. There won't be any unexpected encounters."

"That's a relief. Is there anything else we need to be careful about?"

"Follow the leader's instructions and don't break the formation, I guess. ...Is there anything else?"

"No, I think that's about it. ...What are we going to target? I don't think we can handle a Kelpie. I think the best we can do is a Carbuncle. I'd like to hunt a Cockatrice. I want some high-value materials like dragon's gall."

"I've heard that many Carbuncles run away. Are we going to chase them?"

"Let's not chase the Carbuncles. It will be troublesome if we are led to a Kelpie. Let's just defeat the ones that come towards us."

"I want to gather materials, so I want to go to the salt lake. I want some water-loving crystals."

"Water-loving crystals are definitely something we want. I want to secure at least five for everyone."

"...Let's try to move along the shore. It will be easier to gather materials. We will encounter more Cockatrices, though."

"Let's fight a Cockatrice first. If it's dangerous, we'll give up on gathering materials at the salt lake in the shallows. ...We'll move a little deeper towards the west gate, so please take care of that area."

"? Are we moving towards the west gate?"

"Yeah, I want to sell the leftovers to the adventurer's guild to avoid disputes over shares. ...So, the leftovers from the gathering will be sold to the alchemist's guild. Water-loving crystals will go to the alchemist's guild if we have more than four."

"I see. I'm fine with that."

"I agree."

"Then let's go. ...We're a bit late, so there probably won't be much fighting."

So, the group started moving. The people at the front are in battle, so we have to catch up to them to hunt monsters. ...After about 30 minutes of walking, we finally started to spread out. At this point, orcs and gamir clubs are spawning normally. Well, there are only 3 or 4, so 5 of us can handle it easily. It's just a matter of beheading the orcs, and the gamir clubs' weak point is between their eyes, so I swing vertically. And it cleanly split in half. ...I can't get the paste, and the magic iron has fallen, so I need to think about how to defeat them.

"Use thrusts with a sword for the gamir clubs! Their bellies are softer than their backs!"

"Thanks, Ted. I'll try that."

"Next, front, 3 gamir clubs."

"Got it!"

I can't help but admire Glenn, who always charges in first. He's good at managing hate and is a solid tank.

"Deep right! 3 orcs!"

Sylvio is very helpful as a leader, especially in keeping track of the enemies during continuous battles. I still have a narrow field of vision. ...There's also a position behind the shield, but it's amazing that he can see beyond the current battle.

"Next! Short break!"

Oh, a break. I behead the orc in front of me and put it in the 'Extend Space.' I look around. Indeed, there are no enemy shadows nearby. I take a stroll around the salt lake, maintaining the formation. I'm on left-wing alert since the right wing is near the salt lake. I'm also looking down, but there aren't many materials that can be used. They are mostly found around or in the salt lake. Water bubble mushrooms, for example, grow in the water. But I collect magic mushrooms. We'll divide them later, so I quickly collect them. Everyone ignores water flow grass, which is fine. I might be the only one secretly collecting it.

After an hour of walking around the Uze Salt Lake, we started to see Cockatrices. ...But as expected, they run away. And they are incredibly fast. Is this gem selection a nightmare? ...Really, the nobles... We don't chase the running Cockatrices. We decided not to. As we continue walking, we finally spot one. It's a 3-meter crocodile. A Cockatrice.

"Front, 2 Cockatrices. Let's go."

Glenn lures one. The other... went to the right wing. So, I have to deal with this crocodile. I circle around and swing from top to bottom... surprisingly, the blade went in smoothly. The tail was cut off. I didn't expect it to go through the bone. Then, I cut from behind without damaging the stomach, and Ted cut off the upper jaw, rendering it almost powerless before delivering the final blow. ...On the other side, the Zweihänder was used to control the Cockatrice while the spear cut off its head. That's why great swords are so cool.

"The Cockatrices don't seem to be a problem. Let's keep this up."

This time, the left wing is near the salt lake. It's my turn to use my gathering skills. ...This is a water bubble mushroom. This is water meadow moss, and there's also water bright grass. Secure, secure. ...This must be a water-loving crystal, secure. This pace, this pace. We slowly move forward, maintaining the formation while gathering materials. It must look quite strange, but I'm used to gathering, so this is easy.

We continue to hunt and gather smoothly. In the middle of this, the leader calls for a stop.

"That's a Kelpie. ...We're retreating, but what about the others? Can we win?"

We look at the Kelpie in the distance. ...Yeah, it's still too early. It's not possible yet. We might win, but the risk of injuries is high. It's safer to retreat.

"I vote for retreat. ...We might win, but we need to get through the gate today, or it will be impossible."

"...I think that's the right decision. We can take the hits, but with that large body, we need to switch to two-handed shields. We would need high-level potions."

"If the three-star group can't handle it, it's better to retreat. I vote for retreat."

"I agree."

"Then, let's retreat without getting too close. We'll head for the west gate."

We retreat as planned. I think this is the right decision. We can defeat it when we're third-year students. It's good to have seen it in advance. That's our goal.

After that, we continued to defeat Cockatrices without any trouble and managed to defeat three approaching Carbuncles. It's going well. We hunted until the evening and were really tired. I understand why adventurers might want a 2-3 day break. When we reached the gate, we were suddenly very tired. I'm so tired.

"That's the end of the class. Let's tally the monsters."

Since it's a party, it's not over yet. Now we have to calculate the shares. ...It's very complicated. Well, we can calculate without taking things out of the 'Extend Space.' We can keep track of the number of items stored in it. ...In the past, we could only estimate. The 'Extend Space' has grown.

"52 goblins per person, 3 kept. 21 orcs, 2 sold. 33 gamir clubs, 2 sold. 12 Cockatrices, 1 sold, 3 Carbuncles sold. The selling price will be divided into five parts after the sale. ...Glenn, please take charge of distributing the materials. I'll give you my share. I couldn't gather much, but this is all I have."

"Well, you can't do everything while commanding and fighting. It's understandable."

"...Thanks. I'll go to sell the items."

"Let's tally the materials while we wait for Sylvio to return. ...I didn't gather much either."

"...Neither did I. I aimed for water-loving crystals, but I only found three."

Were there so few? I thought there were many. Well, we'll see when we tally them. Let's tally them.

"...20 magic mushrooms per person, 2 sold. 6 water bubble mushrooms, 1 sold. 8 water bright grass, 2 sold. 7 white thread grass, 3 sold. 1 bottle of water meadow moss, not sold. 4 water-loving crystals, 1 sold. What about the rest, Herman?"

"These are materials listed in the Compendium of Herbology. 12 water flow grass per person, 3 sold. 5 extinguishing grass, 3 sold, 6 temperature grass, 1 sold. They are all mid-copper materials, so they are not listed in the magic realm book because they are cheap."

"Maybe I didn't study enough. I haven't read the Compendium of Herbology."

"I didn't know either."

"I haven't read it either. ...I didn't get it from Sylvio either. Maybe I should tell him."

"I don't think it's necessary to know. They are all mid-copper or lower. I've only read the first volume."

"Since we have time, let's go to the academic library and check."

"I'll study it too."

"I'll read it too."

"...Then I'll read all the volumes. I might need them."

None of us have read the Compendium of Herbology. ...If I hadn't read it at Judy's, I probably wouldn't have read it either. Let's study it now.

"I'm back. 1 gold coin, 2 silver coins, 2 small silver coins, 2 large silver coins, 2 medium silver coins, and 8 small silver coins per person. Please check the money in the vials."

I checked the money in the vials. ...I think it's probably correct. Let's trust the adventurer's guild. ...I won't say it's troublesome. I'll divide it into vials for my wallet later. After that, we set up the tents in the square in front of the west gate. ...I'm participating in the raid again. It's a 300-person raid. I can keep the goblins, but the orcs don't come often, so I'll sell them. If they come, I'll just get more money.

So, it's the next morning. The night watch was pretty quiet. I hunted 7 goblins, so with the ones I kept, it's 2 more per person. The goblins that appeared were just enough to divide evenly. Selling them won't get much, but that's how it goes. So, the group went to the alchemist's guild. We sold the excess materials here too. ...It's a long walk to the capital, so it's already early evening. It's a hassle. We chatted and talked about various things.

"I'm back. 4 silver coins, 3 medium silver coins, 9 small silver coins, 4 large copper coins, and 2 medium copper coins per person. The water-loving crystals were a good price."

Water-loving crystals are priced by the alchemist's guild, so they are worth 2 gold coins. If a merchant sells them, they are worth 1 gold coin. Well