Chapter 58

"Feeling right at home, I wonder if this is what it means."

After parting ways with Kohaku and taking a short rest to recover, I found myself at the weapon shop in Trillia.

I picked up a one-handed mace, a rather crude and sturdy golden club, from the wall, and it felt incredibly comfortable in my hands.

"Hey, it's rare to see a girl like you interested in something like that."

"Hmm, really?"

"Yeah, most of the time, it's swords, spears, or staffs that sell. I get it, and I don't complain when they sell, but maces, especially this type, aren't very popular."

"They don't look good. They're far from stylish."

"You got that right."

While chatting with the shop owner, who laughed heartily, I checked the performance of the golden club in my hand. The attack power was over 40, and the durability, for a golden club, was relatively low at 300. The increase in finisher power was a bit lacking, but for everyday use, it was more than enough. The required strength value was 30, which seemed incredibly low, but upon calm reflection, it was just that heavy metal weapons were too heavy.

Still, it definitely felt light.

"By the way, that thing you're carrying on your back, it's a heavy metal hammer, right? And a high-purity one at that. I didn't realize you were so strong."

"I'm a Ghost Person."

"Even among Ghost People, not many can handle something like that to come to this city."

Indeed, Haruru, who made this weapon, said that not many people could handle it, so it must be something special.

"By the way, its name is 'Golden Club - Penetrate.' I'll give you a discount."

"Okay, I like it. I might not have enough money, so can I sell some materials too?"

"Sure, no problem."

Thus, I bought the golden club, originally priced at 40,000 Ilis, for 20,000 Ilis, including the exchange of materials. According to the shop owner, it was made of an alloy of steel, called light steel, which had properties opposite to heavy metal, and ordinary iron. The lightness and low durability were due to this. The color was a strong silver with a white tint. Considering that the 'Meteor Impact - Zero' I was carrying was pitch black, the light steel, with its opposite properties, must be a white mineral.

I put the Meteor Impact - Zero back in my inventory and tried standing with the new golden club on my back.

"How does it look?"

'It looks good.'

'I like it.'

'It suits you.'

'The return of the gorilla slayer.'

'You were a gorilla slayer, huh...'

"Hehehe... Am I being complimented? Really, am I being complimented?"

If I pick up good comments, I guess I am being complimented. But wait, does it mean it's okay for a girl to use a golden club...?

"I want to level up, but Trillia is a lakeside city, so there aren't many monsters around."

'Can't you swim?'

'Wet Skuna is nice.'

'Hunting water dragons.'

'Going on a trip?'

"Hunting water dragons is a crime. By the way, I can swim, but without the 'Diving' skill, I lose all my SP in a minute."

Apparently, the lake surrounding Trillia has ruins at the bottom. Even the player with the highest diving skill can only see them, so for now, it's just a tourist spot.

"Anyway, this city has only one other exit besides the entrance gate. I guess it's a fortress city, so it's easier to defend."

'I don't know.'

'Didn't you have confidence in the war?'

With the weapons secured, I decided to go hunting and aim for the next dungeon. With that, I headed towards the gate to Feias.

☆

In front of me, a gorilla-type monster was roaring. Despite its name, 'Powered Gorilla,' it wasn't very powerful, but it was tough.

After experiencing Kohaku's attack power, especially a direct punch to the stomach, most attacks felt weak. I dodged the Powered Gorilla's right punch, which was fast despite its size, and slipped into its guard to strike its side with the golden club.

Was it because it was light, or because I had removed the heavy metal weapon? Anyway, the easy-to-use striking sensation was great. The reach was good, and it could be thrown, making it a very handy weapon.

"There!"

The golden club hit the Powered Gorilla's jaw with a "Gokya" sound. Without missing the moment when its brain shook and it staggered, I activated a new skill for blunt weapons, 'Continuous Smash.' It was a simple skill that just smashes twice. Though the name was a bit disappointing, it had a rare effect of not being bound by form, allowing for quite a bit of freedom in hitting the enemy with both hands.

I hit the gorilla's cheeks like a slap, and the Powered Gorilla, having lost HP, disappeared.

"Why are there only gorillas on this plain?"

The plain, though not infinitely vast, was quite expansive, and it was mostly populated by gorillas. Despite the occasional slope, the view was generally wide. The sky was clear and blue, and the air was warm. It was a very peaceful field, and just walking around felt good. However, the fact that it was mostly gorillas was a bit of a letdown.

Additionally, there were 'Red Rhinos,' a type of rhinoceros monster. They were higher level and tougher than gorillas, but they seemed to be non-active monsters. Watching them graze peacefully was soothing, but sometimes they got caught up in gorilla battles and were blown away, causing players to die. I think they were one of the stronger monsters on this plain. I decided to leave them alone and focus on the gorillas, which were easier to hit and gave good experience.

"Gorilla, gorilla, gorilla..."

I alternated between the golden club and the Meteor Impact - Zero, humming a tune as I hunted gorillas. Both two-handed maces and blunt weapons could use the 'Blunt Weapon' skill arts, and of course, the 'Two-Handed Mace' skill arts, so I used them as needed.

As I mentioned before, two-handed maces are weapons that prioritize one-hit power. They have high base attack power, heavy attacks, and high skill damage multipliers. However, they are relatively slow and difficult to handle. They are best used in conjunction with tanks or buffers to maximize their effectiveness.

Earlier, I mentioned that 'Continuous Smash' could be used freely with both hands, but generally, blunt weapon skills are less bound by form. This is because slashing can be easily followed up, leading to combos. On the other hand, blunt weapon attacks are either deflected, knocked away, or crushed. For example, with a sword, you can follow a diagonal slash with an upward cut, but with a blunt weapon, the attack stops at the shoulder, making it impossible to transition to an upward cut. Skills generally have a fixed trajectory, but using them with blunt weapons results in significant lag. Therefore, blunt weapon skills are relatively free in form, and single-hit, high-damage skills are more common.

The basic skill for two-handed maces is 'Smash.' It's a simple, fixed-form strike with a 2x damage multiplier. The power to steadily chip away at the tough gorilla's HP feels great.

"Yah, yah, yah!"

'Yikes!'

'Yikes!'

'Do you have a grudge against gorillas?'

'You're so energetic.'

'Are you stressed?'

'The sound is harsh.'

No mercy for gorillas. It's their fault for giving good experience.

"...Sama...!"

While I was mowing down gorillas with the golden club, I suddenly heard a voice calling out to someone, or something.

"Huh? Did I hear something just now?"

'I didn't hear anything.'

'I didn't hear anything.'

'Not at all.'

'Was it a hallucination?'

'Ugh... Even Skuna is...'

"What do you mean by 'even'? Well, I can hear players' voices from anywhere on the plain, but this feels like it's directed at me..."

I looked around, searching for someone who might be calling me. About 200 meters behind where I was standing, I saw a player running towards me.

"Ah... I see."

In this world, where physical abilities are much higher than in the real world, 200 meters was just a few seconds away. It was a player I recognized, someone I had played with recently. I remembered she was also in the area around Trillia.

"Skuna-sama!"

"It's been a while, Tōka."

It had been about two days in this world. Tōka, my younger sister and Rin's cousin, appeared, slightly out of breath.

It seems there's a protagonist who is venting stress on gorillas after being beaten by stronger opponents.