Chapter 20

As usual, I showed my face at the underground workshop.

Master seemed to be deep in thought with a serious expression.

Beside him, the usual Metal Skin stood ready.

And there was another figure.

It was Lugran, the head of the Adventurer's Guild.

But something was off.

His whole body was glowing.

And it looked somewhat translucent.

A shining ghost?

A living spirit?

Whatever it was, it was an otherworldly sight.

It even had a somewhat divine feel to it.

"Ah, you're back."

"Aye. Keith, I have something to talk about right away."

What could these two big shots want with someone like me?

I couldn't help but tense up.

"I have an urgent matter that will keep me away for a while. I need to go to various places. So—"

"The matter of you becoming my apprentice will be handled by me."

"Huh?"

I hadn't heard anything about this.

I hadn't heard anything at all.

"Just listen to this old man for a while. It'll be fine."

"Old man, stop it."

"Well, you'll definitely be forced to take on requests from the Adventurer's Guild. If you don't like it, you can punch me."

"I won't take a punch."

The atmosphere seemed to lighten, but Master's aura didn't.

Something must be really serious.

"Well, there are some things to look forward to. For now, it's a pass, but we'll see how it goes."

[You have obtained the title "Apprentice of the Old Summoner (Provisional)!]

A strange notification appeared.

A title?

I stared at the text in the virtual window, but nothing happened.

I wish there was a simple explanation for this.

"I'm not leaving this place for good, but I will be away for a long time."

"Yes."

"During that time, you can use the house upstairs and the first three floors of the tower. You don't need to worry about the tower's management or the security of the grounds."

With those gatekeepers and Metal Skin.

I'm definitely more unreliable.

"Make your own living. You should be able to manage. Cook for yourself."

Ah, I see. He won't take care of me that much.

But from here, it's not too far to Remto town or Legias village by horse.

If I get tired, I could always get the "Cooking" skill.

Cooking is my Achilles' heel.

It's not just a lack of confidence.

I'm the kind of guy who can make curry taste bad.

"Then I'll take you on. Keith, come to the Adventurer's Guild whenever you're free tomorrow."

With that, the Guild Master disappeared.

I thought he wasn't a physical entity, but still, that was impressive.

"Was that the Guild Master's magic?"

"He's a mage who specializes in light magic. He sent a light-based doppelganger here."

"I see."

So light magic can do that.

It seems quite convenient.

"Well, let's have a meal. After we finish, I'll be leaving. I'll leave it to you."

After the meal, Master summoned a Rockbird and flew off into the sky.

It was already close to night.

The atmosphere was a bit lonely, but that Master is incomparably powerful.

There's no need to worry about him.

From tomorrow, I'll be going to the Adventurer's Guild.

I should do some hunting while I have the time.

I'll go to the night forest.

My MP bar isn't fully recovered, but I can easily summon Wolf, Voluf, and Obsidian.

Easily?

No, my MP bar is below half.

I'm definitely getting stronger, but I don't have that much leeway.

It's already dark outside.

Voluf and Obsidian don't mind the darkness, but I do.

I can't navigate the night forest without light magic.

Well, let's go hunting.

In the darkness, only the area around me was illuminated by the light magic flashlight.

Voluf and Obsidian were exploring the surroundings at a distance from me.

There were other parties in the forest, but not as many as during the day.

We went deeper into the forest to avoid overlapping hunting grounds.

Our main prey was still Evil Ants, but there were also quite a few Bloody Woods.

They're tough but slow, making them good for practicing throwing.

Fighting them was actually fun.

I'm not sure about the gobo, though.

And the Evil Ants.

It's not ideal to spend too much time hunting them, so I tried various methods to kill them instantly.

The most efficient method I found was to twist their necks and pull them out.

I also tried folding and breaking their necks, but that wasn't a good method.

Often, they didn't break even when I thought they did.

Of course, to twist their necks, I had to get close, which accumulated damage.

I mainly used potions for recovery, and Wind Heal when I hit the cooldown limit.

I needed to save MP for the light magic.

Still, it's the night forest.

I can't let my guard down.

Right after fighting an Evil Ant, I was ambushed by a Hunter Bat.

I didn't notice it, but Obsidian attacked the bat just before it could hit me.

Bats are faster in the air, but it seems they can be intercepted.

The bat Obsidian knocked down was finished off by Voluf.

[Your summoned monster "Obsidian" has leveled up!]

[Please add 1 point to any stat value.]

Wow, Obsidian leveled up on the first day.

I already knew his intelligence had increased.

I assigned the extra point to dexterity.

I want him to hit his attacks accurately in the forest.

Summoned Monster: Obsidian, Owl Lv1 → Lv2 (↑1)

Dexterity: 12 (↑1)

Agility: 16

Intelligence: 20 (↑1)

Strength: 12

Vitality: 10

Spirit: 15

Skills:

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

No new skills, but steady growth is good.

As we went deeper into the forest, the slopes became steeper.

We couldn't go any further.

I noticed several holes on the slopes.

They turned out to be the entrances and exits of Evil Ant nests.

I was ambushed a few times.

With the nest nearby, they quickly gathered when I called for help.

It was a bit troublesome, so I decided to leave for now.

On the way back, I hunted Evil Ants and Bloody Woods.

It was a good pace.

Voluf and Obsidian competed to find prey.

Their combat power was reliable, but it was also helpful that they found and guided monsters.

I also leveled up some skills: Joint Lock, Throw, and Grapple.

Yeah.

I guess I fight that way a lot.

The night hunt went well.

Just in the forest, though.

When I got back to Master's house and sorted through the loot, I had a lot.

The wild horse hide stood out.

What should I have it processed into?

Maybe horse equipment I've been borrowing.

It might be a bit difficult to process.

I enjoyed thinking about it.

It was fun to ponder.

But I had been logged in for quite a while.

I decided to log out and prepare for the next day.

When I logged in at the usual time, I immediately got a message.

[You have a message from a friend.]

It was from Reina.

She's quite diligent.

"I'll be in Legias village in the morning! Look for Mio's stall!"

I'll go to Legias village to get the new rod, then head to Remto town.

It's the opposite direction, but there's no choice.

I made a rough plan and summoned Crescent and Helix.

I headed straight for Legias village.

Maybe I'll have breakfast in the village.

It took some effort, but I found Mio's stall.

It was combined with another stall, so I didn't notice it at first.

There was another female player I hadn't seen before in their party.

She seemed to be busy with preparation and cooking.

I greeted Mio, but it ended with "Hey!"

There was nothing I could do, so I ordered a rabbit meat sandwich and waited for Reina.

"Hey! I'm here!"

Reina came to the stall as usual.

Saki was with her, and there were two male players I hadn't seen before.

"Oh, good morning, Keith! Want to see it right away?"

"Sure."

I nodded to the new players and looked at the rod.

I used [Appraisal] to confirm it was definitely Kay's rod.

I checked the weight by holding it.

I moved to a slightly open area and swung it around.

It felt good.

Definitely better than the beginner's rod I'm using now.

"Nice."

"Of course!"

The material cost was surprisingly cheap, only 100 dinars.

If it's good and cheap, there's no reason to complain.

"Oh, let's do introductions!"

Prompted by Reina, the new players introduced themselves one by one.

"Hi, I'm Rick, a Merchant."

"I'm Shino, a Woodworker."

"I'm Yuka, a Cook like Mio."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Keith, a Summoner."

There was a hint of surprise in their expressions.

"Ah, sorry. I know you have a green marker horse and a hawk."

"No, no."

Rick seemed quiet but had a good build. He had a sword, so he's a front-liner.

Shino was a bit small and had a bow and quiver on his back. Woodworkers often become archers, I guess.

Yuka had a Japanese woman's appearance. She had a calm demeanor, unlike Mio.

They must be a party of six with Saki, Reina, and Mio.

Do producers tend to stick together?

After that, Mio and Yuka were busy with customers and cooking.

I passed the time chatting with the other four.

Most of the topics were about new hunting grounds found in all directions.

But each one had some kind of seal or something that prevented them from going further.

The bulletin board was focused on what triggers these events.

It seems challenging to clear them.

While enjoying Mio's new dishes, I listened.

The topic of potion shortages came up.

Apparently, parties with healing magic are increasing.

On the contrary, the demand for potions is higher because players are traveling further.

Not much good news.

"The temporary window at the Adventurer's Guild will start today! It's only for buying and selling potions!"

That's understandable.

It would be a hassle for players to return to Remto just to replenish potions.

"Ah, about the headgear, it'll take a bit longer. I'm taking some time with the tanning process."

"That's fine. I can wait."

Come to think of it, I have some items to sell.

"I have some more items to sell."

"Show me!"

Reina was interested.

I took out sellable items from the [Item Box] one by one.

Evil Ant stingers and bat fangs for arrow tips, Silver Chicken wings and Prairie Hawk wings for fletching.

Wild rabbit hides, raccoon dog hides, and wild horse hides. Wild rabbit meat, Thunder Goat leg meat, and Blood Tide Burdock.

There were also Evil Ant carapaces.

I had hunted a lot, so I had a considerable amount.

"Wow, this is a lot."

"Wow, as a craftsman, I can't resist with this much large hide."

"More importantly, there are ingredients I've never seen before."

"Wait, wait, I can't calculate this."

It suddenly got hectic.

I was left out.

Finally, Saki turned to me.

"So, what do you want to do with these?"

"I'd like you to make something with the hides. Boots or a horse saddle."

"The horse hide is enough for boots, but not for a saddle."

"Then boots."

"Okay. With boots, there will be leftovers. I can make a belt with the rabbit hide. The raccoon dog hide isn't enough for armor."

"I'd like a belt. I'll sell the raccoon dog hide."

"Anything else?"

"I'll sell the ingredients to Mio. I want to sell everything else too."

Saki muttered to herself as she measured my foot size.

It was a bit ticklish.

I have a lot of loot.

I'm solo, but thanks to my summoned monsters, my hunting efficiency is good.

Finding, chasing, and hunting prey.

Of course, the summoned monsters are the ones contributing, not me.

Thanks to them, my borrowed [Item Box] is almost full.

Actually, it was almost full until just now.

I want to sell what I can and lighten the load.

"Burdock. And mystery meat."

Mio was looking over here, hands free.

She took the two pieces of Thunder Goat leg meat and started doing something behind the stall.

Wait, I haven't sold them yet.

Several thin slices of meat were being grilled on a hot plate.

The rising aroma was good.

After a short time, Mio tasted a piece and frowned.

Is there a problem?

Mio put a piece of meat on a small bread and handed it to me.

Eat it, I guess.

Enjoying the aroma, I took a bite.

The taste was good.

Good, but the texture was a bit tough.

It seemed to lack fat.

It had the flavor of lean meat, but it was a shame.

"I need to work on this a bit more."

Mio and Yuka started discussing something.

NPC customers are coming!

"Rick, are you done with the calculations?"

"I'm good. But that's impressive."

"It's close to what we hunted."

I received 18 silver coins of 100 dinars from Rick.

Not bad for income.

"Do producers also do business and travel together?"

"Sure! Our Player's Guild is for producers, regardless of profession!"

"We form parties for mutual convenience and do trading and hunting."

"Two people run the stall, while the other four do hunting and production."

"Fiena and the others are coming the day after tomorrow."

"Wow."

"We're currently making a profit from arrow production! We contributed a lot to the supply of arrow components!"

Reina was proud.

"But Reina, we need more hands for hunting."

"Sure! We'll accept any arrow components and fletching materials from other players!"

"Keith, bring any sellable materials."

I can only nod.

It's a mutually beneficial arrangement.

More players and NPCs were coming for breakfast.

I left to avoid being in the way.

Mio was muttering something.

About the burdock, I guess.

How to cook it, maybe.

Main Character: Keith

Race: Human, Male, Race Level 4

Class: Summoner (Summoner) Level 3

Bonus Points Remaining: 11

Set Skills:

Staff Level 3, Strike Level 2, Kick Level 2, Joint Lock Level 3 (↑1), Throw Level 2 (↑1)

Dodge Level 2, Block Level 2, Summoning Magic Level 4

Light Magic Level 2, Wind Magic Level 3, Earth Magic Level 2, Water Magic Level 2

Alchemy Level 3, Pharmacist Level 2, Glassworking Level 1

Coordination Level 4, Appraisal Level 3, Identification Level 3, Cold Resistance Level 2, Grapple Level 3 (↑1)

Horse Riding Level 2, Precision Level 2, Jumping Level 1, Heat Resistance Level 1

Equipment: Kay's Rod, Rabbit Chest Armor + Series, Snow Ape Arm Guards,

Cloth Boots, Backpack, Item Box × 2

Held Items: Skinning Knife

Title: Apprentice of the Old Summoner (Provisional)

Summoned Monsters:

Voluf, Wolf Level 3, Resting

Crescent, Horse Level 2

Helix, Hawk Level 2

Obsidian, Owl Level 2 (↑1), Resting

Dexterity: 12 (↑1)

Agility: 16

Intelligence: 20 (↑1)

Strength: 12

Vitality: 10

Spirit: 15