Chapter 66

Elio was lost in thought about his equipment as he made his way home, when his good friend, Phil, an adventurer, called out to him.

"Hey, Elio, what's up?"

"Ah, Phil. Well, I got beaten by those 'White Wolves' again."

"Cheer up. Hey, how about we go to the diner on the outskirts of town? I'll treat you."

"A diner?"

"Yeah, there's a cute girl there right now."

"Hmm, I'm not really in the mood for that right now."

"Come on, don't say that. I'll listen to your troubles."

Elio, though not in the mood, followed his friend's suggestion and they headed down the road towards the outskirts of town.

"Welcome!"

It was a cozy, welcoming diner.

The standard home-cooked meals and set meals were reasonably priced, making it a place you'd want to visit every day.

However, Elio's mood didn't improve.

"You really are down, huh?"

"Yeah, because my guild's progress is my fault. If my stats were a bit higher, we could have already taken on higher-level quests a long time ago."

"Don't say that. It's not just your fault."

"Still, this is the third time this month. I can't perform when it matters because of my low stats."

"You're too serious. Try to relax. Come, let's drink."

"Excuse me, are you adventurers?"

A girl in an apron, who seemed to be a waitress, approached them.

Elio immediately recognized her as the rumored waitress.

Indeed, she had a simple yet charming appeal.

"Hey, we're adventurers."

Phil tried to catch her attention by striking a pose.

"Is that so? Then, if you don't mind, please take a look at this."

She handed them a pamphlet.

"Huh? An alchemy guild? This is about the guild operating behind this diner, right? But didn't the old man who ran it retire?"

"That's right. The old man did retire, but fortunately, someone who wanted to use the workshop appeared. It's now in full operation."

"Wow, that's great. Oh, really? The guild's name has changed to 'Spirit Workshop.'"

Elio casually glanced at the pamphlet and a line caught his eye.

'Free consultation for adventurers by S-class appraiser!'

(Free consultation by an S-class appraiser?)

"Since that's the case, would you consider using the alchemy guild as well?"

"Sure, if I have any ore I want refined, I'll ask you."

Saki was about to leave and head back to the kitchen when Elio called out to her.

"Hey, wait a minute, waitress. This S-class appraiser..."

---

Aina was recalling her conversation with Roland while forging a sword.

"Make a sword C at a lower cost?"

"Yeah. So far, you've been making a sword C with 50 units of iron. But now that you've mastered the B-class 'Metal Shaping' skill, you should be able to make a sword C with 40 units of iron. Your next goal is to make a sword C with as little iron as possible. Can you do it?"

Aina's face clouded over.

"..."

"What's wrong?"

"About what that girl Rizetta said. She said that even with two people, a sword B isn't enough. If things continue like this, 'Spirit Workshop' won't be able to survive."

"Oh, that's what it is."

"I... I need to be able to make stronger weapons on my own..."

"It's okay. For now, forget what she said."

"But..."

"She seems proud of making equipment on her own, but I don't think that's everything. It's also important to use people effectively."

"Use people?"

"Right. By using people effectively, you can get the support you need. This helps you compensate for your weaknesses. You're already doing this, right? You're increasing your productivity by borrowing strength and endurance from Rody. As a result, you can now complete the quest of making 10 sword Cs in a day, which you couldn't do before."

"...Yes."

"Let's work together to make weapons stronger than 'Dragon's Flame.' Don't worry. Your alchemy skills are definitely improving. You'll be able to make even more powerful weapons in the future. For now, focus on the task at hand. Make 10 sword Cs in a day. Let's do this properly, okay?"

"Yes."

Aina, having finished recalling, focused again on the task of forging the sword in front of her.

(That girl Rizetta, acting all high and mighty. Just wait and see. I'll make a weapon even better than hers!)

Rody was relieved to see Aina's determination.

(Good. I was worried she'd be discouraged after being shown the difference in strength by that girl Rizetta, but Aina's spirit isn't broken. Roland's support seems to have worked well.)

Rody flipped the iron on the stand to match Aina's pace.

(Please, Aina. This is a pretty good place. My livelihood depends on you.)

"Rody, the rough shaping is done. I'm going to start the detailed shaping, so put two on the stand together."

"Okay."

Rody placed the sword he had been working on onto the stand.

Aina resumed her work of forging the sword.

(Still...)

Aina felt a different sensation while forging the sword.

(What is it? I don't feel as tired as usual today...)

Aina was already working on the tenth sword of the day, yet she didn't feel as exhausted as usual.

Roland checked her status.

[Aina's Status]

Strength: 40-50

Endurance: 40 (↑20)-50 (↑20)

Agility: 60-70

Health: 40 (↘30)-70

* ↑↓ indicates permanent increase/decrease, ↗︎↘︎ indicates temporary increase/decrease

(Her endurance has increased, which has brought stability to her other stats. Aina's status is steadily improving. With this, she should be able to accomplish more work in a day. The problem is...)

Roland stopped appraising Aina and refocused on the meeting with Dylan in front of him.

The two had been looking serious for a while.

"Dylan, I know it's a lot to ask, but is there any better work available?"

On the table in front of him were several documents detailing alchemy jobs that Dylan had found by going around alchemy and adventurer guilds. However, they were all requests to buy low-quality items at low prices.

"I know the numbers are tough, Roland."

Dylan put his hand to his forehead.

"Still, the name recognition of 'Spirit Workshop' on this island is still low. High-paying jobs aren't being offered to us."

"The problem isn't just the pay, Dylan."

Roland pointed to the documents.

"The quality of the work is also an issue. This workshop was set up to train alchemists who can maintain S-class weapons. This requires level-ups. These low-quality quests will make our alchemists rusty."

"I understand."

"Listen, Dylan, the concept of this guild is to grow together with the adventurer guilds. There are many small adventurer guilds on this island. Among them, there must be guilds that want to grow and step up. I want you to find such guilds."

"I understand that too."

Dylan leaned back in his chair, as if giving up.

"However, just the achievement of making C-class swords isn't enough to get any adventurer guilds to listen. Ambitious guilds go to 'Dragon's Flame' first."

"Even so, without requests from guilds, we can't build our track record."

"Looks like we're at a dead end."

The two of them slumped in disappointment.

"Excuse me, is Roland here?"

Saki opened the workshop door.

"Saki, what's up? It's not tea time yet, is it?"

"There's an adventurer at the diner who wants to have Roland's appraisal."

"What?!"

(We have a job.)

"I'll be right there."

Roland stood up and headed to the diner.

---

In the bustling diner filled with adventurers returning from the dungeon, Roland appraised Elio's status.

[Elio's Status]

Strength: 10-60

Endurance: 30-60

Agility: 30-40

Health: 20-80

(This status suggests a C-class shield bearer. His strength is unusually depleted. This is probably because...)

"Weight..."

Elio flinched.

"When you take damage, your endurance should be the first to deplete. Since your endurance is still intact but your strength is unusually low, it's likely that you're wearing equipment that far exceeds your strength."

Elio was impressed by Roland's appraisal skill.

(He can figure this out just by appraising my status. He hasn't even seen my equipment yet. This is the power of an S-class appraiser...)

"Wearing equipment that's too heavy will slow you down, right? With your current equipment, you can't even explore the dungeon properly, can you?"

"Yeah, that's right. That's why I always hold back my teammates. I'm wondering if I should change the rank of my equipment."

"What have the alchemists who maintain your equipment said?"

"They told me to train my strength and endurance. If I have a problem with my current equipment, I should lower the rank. If I don't like that, they suggest I go to another guild."

"I see."

(If I were in his guild, I would back him up to complete strength training quests... But now, he and I are just business partners. And most importantly...)

"Still, the guild you belong to, 'Dawn Shield,' is a small guild, and it probably doesn't have the time or funds to invest in status training, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. The guild says they need me to complete high-paying quests quickly because of their financial situation. But the high-paying quests on this island are either mining at 'Metal Line' or hunting dragons."

"I see. So you need to wear B-class equipment, right?"

"Yeah, but my status isn't high enough for B-class equipment. I'm always caught between the guild and the alchemy guild."

"On this island, you also need to defend against PK guilds, so you can't lower the defense and durability of your equipment..."

"Yeah, that's right."

Elio felt a bit lighter as he talked.

(This is the first time an alchemy guild has listened to my troubles so closely.)

Elio took a deep breath, relieved.

"Yeah, but thanks for listening to my troubles. I was able to sort out my thoughts a bit. I'm still worried about the future, though..."

"Then, how about this? Why don't we make it for you? Light equipment with good defense and durability."

"Really? Can you do that?"

"Yes, our guild can."

"Really?"

"Currently, the unique skill of the alchemists in our guild makes it possible."

(Maybe this alchemy guild can solve my problems.)

"However, it will take some time..."

"That's great, Elio. Have your weapon made here."

"Ah, but..."

Elio looked uncomfortable and lowered his eyes.

"Is something wrong?"

"Equipment made with such a unique skill is probably expensive. I don't know if my guild will allow me to switch. As I said, my guild is small and has a tight budget."

"Would a payment plan or lease contract be out of the question?"

"Hmm, I'm still in the middle of a lease contract with 'Dragon's Flame.' And, well, 'Spirit Workshop' is also a small guild. I don't know if I can convince the higher-ups..."

"I see. Then, how about this? A free trial?"

"Free trial?"

"Yes, try it out in the dungeon once. If it doesn't work out, you can return it. No charge."

"Really? That's okay?"

"Yes, what do you think?"

"Okay. I think the guild will allow it. I'll talk to them right away."

The next day, 'Dawn Shield' officially requested 'Spirit Workshop' to make light and durable armor.