Chapter 38

"In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Meguru opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there."

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"Materials and points are coming together smoothly, so what should we do next?"

"It's getting more and more fun as we can do more things. Maybe this is the fun of the combat group?"

"I wish the base group could share in this."

"I want them to share in it."

Moshin and Meguru each murmured.

Given the expanded abilities, it's clear we're at a disadvantage for not developing the base group.

Especially the trading by Hagizawa is too important.

Thinking about point efficiency, it makes sense.

"Well, we've made a lot of progress, so let's push a little harder."

"Right. Let's try to level up as quickly as possible."

"Alright!"

Then, the knife I entrusted to Jitsu had fewer fine scratches after a while.

Not gone, but fewer.

"It seems I can repair to some extent... but broken weapons and damaged armor are probably beyond my ability."

I see, it's about restoring durability.

"Also, it seems my points have decreased."

"Using points to restore weapon durability... it could be useful depending on how you use it."

"Moshin might learn a similar ability."

"Kosei, I know, so please be quiet."

Recently, Taniizumi and the others have started to worry about the damage to their weapons.

It feels like they want us to develop the base group.

Maybe they don't know, but...

But... you can imagine, right?

He's somewhat familiar with games, after all.

Could it be that they have a reason for not developing the base group? I can't help but wonder.

"Anyway, let's put Kosei's weapon on hold and start forging mine and Hagizawa's weapons, and then the armor."

"The Metal Turtle's armor... it's still a long way off."

Meguru, you like armor too much.

Do you really want the Metal Turtle's armor that much?

"If we can't use it properly even when it's made, it would be a disaster."

Everyone agreed with my words.

Just imagining the heavy shell used in the armor makes me a bit gloomy.

Even using it as a protector would make it a bit heavy.

When the sun rose, I asked on my way back:

"What level are the player group at?"

"They said they were around level 22. They've relied on abilities so far, but they've been struggling against monsters recently."

Thanks to Moshin's enhancements, we've been winning easily.

Thanks to that, I've risen to level 14.

The gap is closing.

At this rate, we might be able to catch up and surpass Taniizumi and the others in two weeks.

Ah, by the way, the combat group has been helping Jitsu level up, and it seems they're rising faster than Meguru.

I'm looking forward to what kind of expansion they'll do next.

"But... what kind of game are Taniizumi and the others using as a reference?"

"Do they not realize they're stuck?"

Or are they sticking to a strategy of steady leveling up, hoping for ability expansions?

22 means they're close to 25.

If they reach 25, they might get new expansion abilities.

Given that they look down on Hagizawa, it's easy to imagine they're playing a style that doesn't rely on recovery items.

"In old RPGs, you could get by with equipment and levels..."

Moshin's words made me think of games I played in the past.

Games where you could clear them by using equipment you bought from stores.

But surely Taniizumi and the others understand that this is different.

The more I think about it, the less I can predict their actions.

"Maybe it's not an online game... but it's a bit unrealistic."

Even in online games, equipment and items are important.

In monster-hunting games, you can get by with better equipment.

"Is it this? They're treating the base group like NPCs, not developing them, so their enhancements are becoming weaker, and they're relying on abilities, making their strategy hard to see. But they don't want to admit they need to develop the base group now."

Hagizawa's words felt right.

"Taniizumi and the others aren't foolish. The fact that they haven't lost anyone in the past three weeks is proof they're being careful... so there's a way to reconcile."

Everyone nodded at Moshin's words.

When we're stuck, we'll stand in front of Taniizumi and the others, and if we win, they'll recognize the base group as a new approach.

No, we'll make them recognize it.

"The scary part is being used halfway."

"Right. We can't just favor some of the base group, like Moshin. We need to make them recognize the potential of the others who are being neglected. That's one of our victories."

Yes, this is the victory condition if we can't find a village.

The premise is that we continue exploring.

But this is important too.

It's not just one or the other; we're almost there to break through this oppressive situation.

Thinking about it, I get a sudden burst of motivation.

We became even more united and focused on leveling up.

With the ability to enhance and use magic-infused weapons, the gap between us and Taniizumi and the others is gradually closing.

We should be as strong as the second team of the combat group now.

Just as we were, Jitsu's level reached 15.

Thanks to the increased experience point efficiency, it felt like Jitsu reached 15 quite quickly.

"Ah, my level has gone up."

"Even more than Hashibashi, who's been hunting with long-range attacks during the day."

Hagizawa, you don't need to bring me up.

Meguru and I sometimes go hunting together, you know?

The Metal Turtle's range isn't that strong, so we can go during the day if we're careful.

We focus on them because they give points.

"Well, the combat group helped me level up a bit."

"Have you talked about the expansion ability?"

"Sort of. I told them about replenishing magic to weapons, but they didn't really value it."

Is it a blind spot in the combat group's understanding?

Replenishing magic to weapons should significantly increase their power...

"They thought it was convenient but not more than that."

Not having to clean blood or replenishing magic to a weapon that shoots magic should be significant... but it seems they only see it as a recovery ability.

It's different from Moshin and Hagizawa's abilities.

Especially something like attracting Japanese items, which doesn't contribute to combat.

Yeah... Moshin and Hagizawa's abilities are still more impressive.

"So, what did you get this time?"

Meguru asked Jitsu.

Jitsu tilted her head and answered.

"Um... a warehouse?"

Meguru, Moshin, and Hagizawa froze.

Hey... that's...

Everyone, please don't slowly turn your gaze towards me.

I'm looking at Meguru.

"Jitsu, can you try using it?"

"Sure."

As Jitsu said, a spatial rift... a black hole opened in front of Jitsu.

"Wow, what is this?"

Meguru stuck her head into the hole.

"Um... it's dark but it seems like a large space."

She tried to enter, but it didn't seem to go past her head.

Is it safe to enter?

"Hmm, can't enter."

"Don't try to enter. Where are you trying to go?"

"Is it like an item box?"

"Maybe?"

"Let's try putting the monster's corpse we just killed into it."

We asked Jitsu to open the hole, and we put the corpse in.

Oh, others can see the hole too.

Inside... yeah, it looks like a starry universe.

It's a bit fantastical.

"Can you take it out?"

"Um? Who is the owner of this corpse?"

"Isn't it the party?"

"Oh, it seems so. It's in a shared box. The text is floating."

Jitsu fiddled with the status, and the space opened, and the monster's corpse we put in came out.

"It seems to use a little bit of points."

"It's like the ability of a bag in an RPG."

Hagizawa said something accurate.

It does feel like that.