Chapter 25

As I proceeded along the road, I began to encounter monsters once I passed through the farmlands. There were mainly two types of monsters, and when I identified them, they turned out to be:

Stripe Boar Lv.1

Monster - Target for Elimination - Active

Whiskered Mole Lv.2

Monster - Target for Elimination - Active

Hunting either of them wouldn't be a problem. However, the moles were troublesome. Even with Helix's eyes, I couldn't see underground. If I had been walking, I would have been ambushed. Thanks to the speed of Residual Moon, I managed to avoid the ambush, but it was just by chance. I should assume that there are always monsters to be cautious of in any field.

It seemed that the moles didn't appear on the road. I continued on, occasionally dealing with wild boars. If I felt like it, I would veer off the road to fight the moles. Both monsters were more difficult than wild dogs, but they didn't seem extremely strong. Of course, they dropped items.

[Material Item] Stripe Boar Meat - Raw Material - Quality C - Rarity 1 - Weight 1

Meat from a Stripe Boar. The fat under the skin is thick and gamey, but it is full of nutrients.

[Material Item] Whiskered Mole Claw - Raw Material - Quality C - Rarity 1 - Weight 0+

Claw of a Whiskered Mole. It has a shape and hardness suitable for digging in the soil.

The meat was somewhat tempting.

A pot of simmered meat would be nice.

But does this world even have miso?

It seems they have fish sauce, though.

I continued along the road, following the river. The river narrowed and the flow decreased as the mountains drew closer. After crossing several hills, I saw several plumes of smoke rising from the outskirts of the road. From the top of the hill, it looked like a camp centered around tents. There were many people moving about, and about half of them were players, as indicated by the green markers.

It seemed to be a camp serving as a base for players hunting in the northern mountains. I confirmed the location and then headed west. I replenished my water from the river and crossed at a shallow spot, gradually entering a denser forest.

By the way, in this northern direction, I felt that the probability of finding obsidian was higher. I also found stones I hadn't seen before along the riverbank.

[Material Item] Blue Spinel - Quality C- - Rarity 3 - Weight 0+

A semi-transparent mineral with an octahedral crystal structure. It is not particularly valuable, but it is known to assist in the activation of magic when processed.

[Material Item] Obsidian - Quality C- - Rarity 1 - Weight 0+

A brownish-black mineral with a sharp fracture surface. As a stone, it has a good edge and is often used to make stone tools.

The Blue Spinel I picked up from the river was a slightly dull, semi-transparent crystalline stone. I compared it with the obsidian. Both had clear hints, and the game developers were quite considerate.

To be honest, I was tempted to search for more Blue Spinel, but the riverbank was not suitable for moving with Residual Moon. I decided to give up and continue on. Dowsing, a spell of earth magic, was good for making a little money, but it was not to be underestimated if it could also find items with a rarity of 3.

I circled around the edge of the forest, aiming for the watchtower. The surrounding scenery seemed familiar, like the western forest. Wild silver pheasants, both male and female, did not come out of the forest. However, the parallel raccoons were different. I encountered a tanuki for the first time in a while, and it launched a surprise attack with fireballs. Naturally, I countered and defeated it. But it didn't drop anything. No skin. It was a bit disappointing. Still, with the tanuki hidden in the forest, Helix's eyes were not effective, which was troublesome. From then on, I continued to circle around, staying away from the shadows of the forest.

I arrived at the village of Legias. It was still early for dinner, but smoke from cooking was rising from various places, visible even from a distance. Could I get something to eat at Mio's stall?

Mio was absent, and Fina and Yuka were manning the stall.

"Welcome!"

"Hello."

Surprisingly, there were many NPC customers, and I couldn't talk further. Yuka was in charge of cooking, and Fina was in charge of sales. I decided to wait a bit. I bought sandwiches, burdock and gobo, and soup, and moved to a table behind the stall. My stomach was gradually filling up. But the burdock was problematic. It made me want rice. I wanted a proper bowl of rice.

After finishing my meal, Saki arrived. She seemed a bit surprised to see me.

"Oh, you're here. I didn't send you a message."

"Hello."

"Just a moment ago, I finished making the boots. I also made a set of waist armor to match the chest plate."

"Thank you."

"I used more than half of the wild horse skin, but I had a little left over. However, it's not enough to make anything substantial."

"Ah, that might work."

"Huh?"

"Can I try on the equipment first?"

"Oh, sorry."

Saki took out the equipment one by one. The leather helmet was the one I had seen in the message. It was surprisingly light for its size. The boots were a dark color, but the carapace of the evil ant was attached in various places. The waist armor did not cover the entire thigh, prioritizing ease of movement. All of them seemed easy to move in.

[Armor Item: Leather Helmet] Snow Ape Leather Helmet - Quality C+ - Rarity 3

Def+5 - Weight 2 - Durability 120

A leather helmet made from the skin of a snow ape. It has been reinforced with hard leather to improve its defensive capabilities.

[Armor Item: Waist Armor] Wild Rabbit Waist Armor+ - Quality C+ - Rarity 2

Def+3 - Weight 2 - Durability 100

Waist armor made from the skin of a wild rabbit. The skin has been processed to remain soft, prioritizing ease of movement.

[Custom]

The waist armor uses the carapace of the evil ant, slightly improving defense and durability. The carapace can be replaced by simply inserting it.

[Armor Item: Boots] Wild Horse Boots+ - Quality C - Rarity 3

AP+2 - Def+2 - Weight 1 - Durability 90

Boots made from the skin of a wild horse. The skin has been processed to remain soft, prioritizing ease of movement. The soles are non-slip and suitable for sports.

[Custom]

The boots use the carapace of the evil ant in the striking parts, providing a bonus to attacks with the toes, instep, and heel.

With this, my equipment is a bit more complete, right? I immediately equipped the new items and put the old ones in the Item Box. I moved a bit to test them. The boots were particularly well-made. The other equipment also didn't feel heavy. They seemed quite usable.

"Then, I'll put out the items that might sell."

In addition to the usual items like the carapace of the evil ant and needles, there were also items from the north, such as wild boar meat and mole claws. I had also picked up obsidian while moving. The highlight was probably the wild horse skin. I had just hunted it. I decided to keep the Blue Spinel for later.

"Did you hunt a stray horse?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"Having a horse is convenient. Reina and the others encountered one but it escaped halfway through, and they were complaining about it."

She then checked the wild horse skin, her eyes sharp but also somewhat playful.

"The saddle you mentioned before should work."

"Can you make it?"

"It might take some time, but I really want to. I've leveled up a lot with the processing of this material."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Honestly, it's been a