Chapter 18

A new morning had arrived.

It was a morning of ambition.

Something felt different.

No, in a way, it wasn't wrong.

Today's ambition was to summon a new monster.

I had already decided to summon an owl.

I had a few names in mind, and I planned to progress through the game smoothly today.

I was a bit concerned about my master's movements, though.

Since I logged in a bit early, I organized the contents of my backpack and the Item Box to pass the time.

The number of potions that couldn't be delivered had increased, so I left about half of them in my room.

I finished organizing quickly, so I went down to the workshop, but my master wasn't there, and the usual Metal Skin wasn't either.

My hands were free.

Should I complete the new summoning first?

I immediately began the summoning.

I designated the empty slot in the fourth row of the summoning monster list and summoned.

Among the candidates, I chose the owl without hesitation.

"Summon Monster!"

An owl appeared in the magic circle drawn on the ground.

Perhaps due to some growth, my MP bar decreased less than before.

Still, it seemed to have decreased by more than 20%.

This owl, when seen up close, had a fierce face similar to Helix's hawk.

Its legs were thicker and larger than Helix's, and its talons were thick and long.

In terms of sharpness, the hawk might have the edge?

In any case, they looked like formidable weapons.

The most distinctive feature was its eyes.

They were large and black, like bottomless holes.

I came up with a name on the spot.

Summoned Monster

Obsidian Owl Lv1

Dexterity: 11

Agility: 16

Intelligence: 19

Strength: 12

Vitality: 10

Spirit: 15

Skills:

Beak Attack, Silent Flight, Far Sight, Night Vision, Ambush, Danger Sense

After naming it, it immediately flew and perched on my shoulder.

Its feather color was gray with white.

Looking at its stats, it seemed to have lower agility compared to the hawk, but its other stats were higher.

I called up Helix's stats to compare them.

Summoned Monster

Helix Hawk Lv2

Dexterity: 10

Agility: 22

Intelligence: 18

Strength: 11

Vitality: 10

Spirit: 12

Skills:

Beak Attack, Flight, Far Sight, Wide Area Search, Ambush, Danger Sense

Yeah, since they're both birds, there's overlap.

I can use Helix during the day and Obsidian at night to avoid overlap.

While playing with Obsidian, my master appeared in the workshop with a Metal Skin.

"Ho, a new summon, huh?"

"Yes."

"Good, good."

Yesterday, he seemed a bit off, but today he looked normal.

Was it just my imagination?

The breakfast was a standard one and tasted great as usual.

The bear meat seemed to be gone.

After finishing the meal, I headed to Remto as usual.

My master summoned his Battle Horse, and I summoned Crescent to ride.

Today was a good day for hunting as it was sunny.

Now, about the newly summoned Obsidian.

It seemed that owls were not as good as hawks at flying high to search for prey.

However, it moved through the forest without any trouble.

When facing a Rampaging Silver Chicken, it could take it down without my help, showing excellent attack power.

No, in this case, it was an ambush.

It would strike from behind without making a sound while the prey was off guard.

It didn't always finish them in one hit, but it dealt significant damage.

Indeed, the forest hunter was different.

On the grassland, it would perch on my shoulder and spot prey just by looking around.

Even without flying, its detection ability was quite excellent.

It could hunt rabbits without any problem.

I only had to hit the Horn Rabbits with my rod from horseback, which was an easy task.

Compared to Helix, the number of prey was less, but it was sufficient.

After feeling a bit unsatisfied yesterday, this felt good.

[Your Horse Riding skill has leveled up due to your previous actions!]

[Your Precision Handling skill has leveled up due to your previous actions!]

Just before reaching the town of Remto, it seemed I had leveled up various skills.

Hmm.

Did the Precision Handling skill improve just from handling the reins on horseback?

I was still using Physical Enchantment Aqua to boost my dexterity.

Would my horse riding skills improve, making mounted combat even better?

I wanted to test it later.

As usual, I went to the Adventurer's Guild to deliver potions.

The atmosphere was a bit different from yesterday.

The staff, who were usually tough and unflappable, seemed tense.

What happened?

The guild leader wasn't in sight.

"Let's check the potions for Keith's request first."

"Please."

I had the usual middle-aged staff member check them.

I had made 87 potions out of the requested 60.

All of them passed this time.

The calculation was quick, and I received the purchase amount in a small bag.

Checking inside, there were 26 silver coins of 100 Dine and one copper coin of 10 Dine.

That's 2,610 Dine, so the purchase price was 30 Dine per potion.

The price had gone up again.

I wonder how much they're selling to players.

[You have completed the guild's designated request!]

[You have received 5 bonus points and 4 extra evaluation points, totaling 18 bonus points!]

"About the next request..."

"I'll take it."

"I'm very sorry, but we can't accept potion creation requests."

"Huh?"

"We don't have enough empty bottles."

This was unexpected.

"Well, we do have some, but only what the alchemists in Remto have on hand."

"Ugh. It's that tight, huh?"

"Yes. We've asked the glass workshop to increase production, but..."

"It won't be in time?"

"Yes. I'm very sorry, Mr. Oren."

My master joined the conversation.

The staff member was flustered.

While my master's main job isn't potion creation, if it were, this would be a significant loss.

"It's not your fault. If there's nothing, there's nothing."

I couldn't read anything from my master's expression.

He looked scary.

"Keith, you can do as you please today. Just come back home by dinner time."

"Yes. No gathering today?"

"No, without bottles."

That makes sense.

No more unreasonable requests from my master.

Thinking about it, I felt a mix of happiness and sadness.

What should I do for the rest of the day?

There's plenty of time until noon, so no need for a meal.

Leaving the guild leader's room, I ran into Mr. Lugran, the guild leader.

I bowed and passed by.

I was a bit scared to think about what might be happening in that room.

I decided not to think about it.

I looked at the request board by the guild entrance.

There were simple requests written on parchment-like paper.

It was a bit painful to read the translated virtual windows.

I chanted "sort" and "batch" and focused my eyes, and they were consolidated into one virtual window.

I tried to identify the trends in the types of requests.

I thought I had enough funds.

Was there any urgent request?

If not, was there anything to improve my current skills?

Or was there an interesting request?

As I scanned through, one request caught my eye.

I took the parchment-like memo for that request and went to the guild counter.

"I'd like to take this request. Is that okay?"

Now, I was walking to the location the guild staff had told me, leading Crescent by the reins.

The destination was in a part of the city that looked even older than the area with the Adventurer's Guild.

The surroundings were bustling.

It was the craftsmen's district.

Blacksmiths, stonemasons, carpenters, and other workshops lined the streets, bustling with activity.

I knocked on the door of one of the workshops.

It was a glass workshop.

"Excuse me, I'm here for the request introduced by the Adventurer's Guild."

The middle-aged man who seemed to be a craftsman was a muscular giant.

He had a yellow marker, so he was definitely an NPC.

He had a warrior-like aura.

"Hey! I'd love to welcome you, but we don't take beginners without potential. Is that okay?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Hand over the introduction letter."

I handed over the letter I had received from the guild.

The craftsman glanced at the letter and started examining me closely.

"Hmm. I think you'll do. Let's start with a test."

He was efficient, but he seemed to skip a lot of steps.

I wondered how he was as a craftsman.

There were a few other craftsmen in the workshop, but they weren't paying attention to me.

Well, there was one player with a green marker who stopped working and looked at me.

Noticing my gaze, he quickly returned to his work.

It was reassuring to know there were other players around.

"There's a place to tie your horse in the back. Leave your bird outside the workshop too."

"Yes."

That's fine.

I'll have Crescent and Obsidian wait together.

They can guard each other, and if anything happens, they can let me know.

I left Crescent and Obsidian at the horse tie and entered the workshop.

The first craftsman I spoke to was apparently a veteran in the workshop.

He managed the workshop when the owner wasn't around.

Looking at him with [Identification], he was like this.

Nils the Glassmaker Lv.???

Glasswork Master

Wow, a formidable profession.

Probably an advanced class for glassworkers.

"Let's see your strength. Do the same thing I do."

Nils took a thin glass tube from a shelf and put on gloves.

He moved to a small forge and started pumping air into it.

He narrowed the stones around the forge to make the flame thin and strong.

He started heating the middle of the glass tube casually.

After a while, the heated part started to glow red.

Then, he pulled his hands apart.

The glass tube stretched and became thinner in the middle.

When it had stretched enough, he took it out of the flame.

The glass tube cooled quickly in the air, and he used a file to split it in the middle.

Two pencil-shaped objects were formed.

If a bag-like rubber was attached to the other end, it would become a pipette.

If it were a bit longer, it could be used as a pipette.

"Did you see that?"

"Yes."

"Let me show you again. Then you try."

He showed me the same process again.

It was a manual task that required fine adjustments.

This was going to be challenging.

I quietly cast Physical Enchantment Aqua to boost my dexterity.

I chanted the spell name softly to apply the +2 bonus.

Checking my stats, the +2 was applied.

It should help a bit.

"Alright, give it a try."

"Yes."

I tried to replicate what I had seen.

The shape was similar, but it was clearly distorted.

I used [Appraisal] to check.

[Tool Item] Small Pipette Quality D Rarity 1

A tool for dispensing small amounts of liquid.

No graduations have been marked yet. No air bag is attached.

Quality D.

This isn't good.

"Ho, not bad for a first try."

"Um."

"Let's confirm. Try another one."

This time, I tried to work more slowly and accurately.

It was still a bit distorted, but it seemed better than the first one.

Using [Appraisal], it was Quality D+.

Frustrating.

"Not bad. Let's move on to the next step."

Wait, isn't this too fast?

I have no confidence and haven't gained any related skills yet.

"Don't look so worried. Practice makes perfect."

Yeah.

While that's usually my policy, this is too fast!

The workshop had a noticeable feature.

It was hot.

With heat sources everywhere, it was inevitable.

I took off as much of my equipment as possible.

I was shirtless.

There were water bottles, pots, and cups scattered around the workbench.

The craftsmen were constantly hydrating.

There was also salt to lick to prevent mineral loss and maintain health.

Of course, everyone was sweating profusely, but they were careful not to let it touch the glass.

The heat was intense, and I wasn't sure I could think clearly.

This place was unexpectedly dangerous.

Was there any way to counteract it?

I had a relevant auxiliary skill.

I already had Cold Resistance as an auxiliary skill.

So, Heat Resistance or Heat Endurance should be available.

Checking the list of available skills, there it was.

Heat Endurance. It required 2 bonus points.

I immediately acquired and activated it.

Did it help?

I wasn't sure, but it felt like it did.

Nils immediately showed me the process for making empty bottles for potions.

He demonstrated it three times as an example.

Then, he had me try it right away.

The process was as follows:

1. Melt plant ash, natural trona, and quartz to create glass.

2. Pour a certain amount of glass into a mold.

3. Blow into a long, straw-like metal tube while tilting the mold to shape it.

4. Cool it to a certain extent, then break the mold and let it cool naturally.

That's it.

It sounds simple, but it's difficult.

I produced five in a row with Quality D- and Quality D.

It was disheartening.

But Nils was kind.

He said they were usable.

I was moved to tears when I received the production skill [Glasswork].

I immediately acquired and activated it, using 5 bonus points, but it was worth it.

I tried again.

I recast Physical Enchantment Aqua, which had worn off.

I did everything I could, and now it was time to see the results.

The result was Quality D+.

It was a bit, no, quite disheartening.

"Hey, you're improving pretty fast."

I was even praised.

This NPC veteran craftsman seemed to be the type who praised his subordinates to help them grow.

When I received the production skill [Glasswork], I was moved to tears.

I immediately acquired and activated it, using 5 bonus points, but it was worth it.

I tried again.

I recast Physical Enchantment Aqua, which had worn off.

I did everything I could, and now it was time to see the results.

The result was Quality D+.

It was a bit, no, quite disheartening.

"Hey, you're improving pretty fast."

I was even praised.

This NPC veteran craftsman seemed to be the type who praised his subordinates to help them grow.

Main Character: Keith

Race: Human, Male, Race Level 4

Class: Summoner (Summoner) Level 3

Remaining Bonus Points: 11

Set Skills:

Staff Lv3, Strike Lv2, Kick Lv2, Joint Lock Lv2, Throw Lv1

Dodge Lv2, Block Lv2, Summon Magic Lv4

Light Magic Lv2, Wind Magic Lv2, Earth Magic Lv2, Water Magic Lv2

Alchemy Lv3, Alchemist Lv2, Glasswork Lv1 (New!)

Cooperation Lv3, Appraisal Lv3, Identification Lv3, Cold Resistance Lv2, Grapple Lv2

Horse Riding Lv2 (↑1), Precision Handling Lv2 (↑1), Jump Lv1, Heat Endurance Lv1 (New!)

Equipment: Beginner's Rod, Rabbit Chestplate + Series, Snow Ape Arm Guards, Cloth Shoes, Backpack, Item Box x2

Items: Skinning Knife

Summoned Monsters:

Volf, Wolf Lv3 (Resting)

Crescent, Horse Lv2

Helix, Hawk Lv2 (Resting)

Obsidian, Owl Lv1 (New!)

Dexterity: 11

Agility: 16

Intelligence: 19

Strength: 12

Vitality: 10

Spirit: 15