Chapter 50

When I logged in, the eastern sky was slightly brightening.

The moon was still lingering in the western sky.

It's carpentry work from the morning again today.

The time is quite flexible; I was only told to come after having breakfast.

Yeah, really.

Is this okay?

I summoned the waning moon, Helix, and Obsidian and headed for the town of Remto.

After passing through the forest and reaching the grassland, I noticed more players than yesterday.

Clearly more.

Things have become unusually busy.

Arriving at the town of Remto.

It's also become noticeably more crowded here.

Adventurers.

And the area around the Adventurer's Guild is swarming with people.

They're probably waiting to buy recovery items.

It seems many players want to progress and tackle the challenges as soon as possible.

There's also the tournament.

I bought breakfast from a stall run by a player on the street and ate it at the water fountain in the square.

There was no place to sit today.

After replenishing my water, I headed to the archery range where I worked yesterday.

I hope Nils is already there.

I tied the waning moon to the hitching post, left Helix and Obsidian on the saddle to keep watch, and went to the workshop.

The work had already started even though the morning sun was still casting shadows.

It seemed to be the department for making tables.

And floating above was a Flash Light, serving as illumination.

No way.

Did they pull an all-nighter?

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

The responses from the construction NPC workers were unusually loud.

They were still in high spirits.

But their appearance clearly showed they had just finished an all-nighter.

Craftsmen are amazing.

"Hey, Keith, good morning."

"Good morning, Nils."

"I'm relieved. I get worried if people will gather every morning, you know."

"Nils, did you pull an all-nighter?"

"No, I did get enough sleep in between."

That line.

I know someone who used to say something similar.

He took his first day off after getting sick.

I think being a workaholic has its pros and cons.

"Are we continuing from yesterday?"

"Yep. If you can finish by noon today, that would be great."

I glanced at the pile of materials waiting for chamfering.

There's quite a bit, isn't there?

"I'll do my best."

"Sorry. I'm working on assembling and finishing tables and shelves. Let me know if you need anything."

"Sure."

After receiving the instructions, I headed to my station.

No one was watching my work today.

Yesterday, I had already seen the flow of the work process.

The workers only come to the workbench to pick up the chamfered materials.

It's a good opportunity to use alchemy to shorten the work time.

The work started around 7:30 in the morning.

I finished chamfering the stacked materials by 10:00.

Of course, the quality of the work was C or above.

I also had plenty of time to clean up the surroundings.

Sorting, organizing, and cleaning are the basics in manufacturing. This is commonly known as 3S activities.

Adding cleanliness and discipline makes it 5S activities, which are well-known for being established as a corporate culture.

However, as long as it's just being done because it's told to, it doesn't really take root.

Once it becomes a cliché, no mantra can be effective.

Which comes first, the organization or the people?

I believe both chemical reactions are important.

It's a rather fuzzy escape route, though.

From the morning until this time, I haven't seen the Woodwork Master Rauno here.

This is a bit concerning from an organizational perspective.

Leaving the on-site command to someone from another department and then neglecting it, how is that okay?

"I've finished the chamfering."

"Huh? That's fast."

Nils also seemed surprised when he saw the materials on the cargo bed.

"Let's move on to the next process. I'll work with you."

"Sure."

The next process is the preparatory stage before assembling the materials.

Drilling mortise holes.

Shaving the ends of the materials to fit into these holes.

It's a flat mortise joint.

There were two places where long dowels were inserted.

The tools used are chisels and saws.

Not the kind used in modern times.

And since we have to measure the size as we go, the work naturally becomes cautious.

The difficulty level seems to have suddenly increased.

I might as well check the Making skill here.

I didn't care about it during the chamfering process because I could ensure quality C without any additional effort.

This is where I should rely on it.

Measuring: Measuring the size

Planing: Cutting logs into lumber

Cutting: Cutting lumber into materials

Drying: Drying the wood

Polishing: Smoothing the surface of the wood

Staining: Applying color to the surface

Painting: Protecting the surface with paint

Gluing: Bonding pieces of wood together

Carving: Engraving patterns on the wood to add artistic value

Assembly: Assembling the materials

Jointing: Creating a structure to join the materials

Plywood Making: Combining different materials to create plywood

Compared to the Making skills of alchemy and pharmacists, this is quite simple.

But it seems to have all the skills that could be useful.

Still, I was a bit, no, quite anxious, so I decided to boost my dexterity.

I quietly chanted the Physical Enchantment Aqua spell.

Let's give it a try.

Whether it's a flat mortise or anything else, making the convex side is fine.

But the concave side is the problem.

A few I made managed to be quality C-, and Nils confirmed they were usable.

But I'm not satisfied.

I continued to cast the spell even after the effect of Physical Enchantment Aqua wore off.

The next one I made was also quality C-.

The one after that was also quality C-.

It's a rather disappointing result.

I stopped for a moment to drink some water to calm down.

When I appraised the materials Nils finished, they were quality C+.

Incidentally, he finished them at nearly twice my speed.

His technique was impressive.

Most importantly, he had no hesitation in his work.

Occasionally, he would casually advise me to "have confidence in yourself," which wasn't really a tip.

I haven't seen much of the work in the glass workshop, but it seems that craftsmen in different manufacturing processes have a common understanding.

I'm a bit envious.

Just as lunchtime was approaching, the notification I had been waiting for rang in my head.

【Your Carpentry skill has leveled up due to your previous actions!】

Yeah.

I thought this would bring some good results.

It wasn't as sweet as I hoped.

I made three consecutive quality C- items. Of course, this was with the dexterity boost.

Finally, the next one I made was quality C.

Great.

But the slow work speed couldn't be improved.

Watching such a good example right next to me made me anxious.

If I'm going to do it, I want to provide better quality and faster.

Otherwise, the significance of doing it seriously would fade.

But.

Just as I was getting motivated, lunchtime arrived.

The timing couldn't have been worse.

The lunch provided was quite delicious.

It was a simple stew with meat and bread.

However, the portion was large.

The construction workers are really something.

I sometimes crave a large bowl of ramen, but I can't eat it every day.

It's impossible to consume two days' worth of calories in one meal.

The stew wasn't that much, but it was a similar amount.

I managed to finish it without leaving any.

My fullness level definitely exceeded the maximum.

Now, for the afternoon work.

In this world, the break time is different from modern times.

People take breaks as they please.

The work progresses at their own pace.

However, they seem to have a very high sense of pride in their work.

This makes it difficult to plan and advance work.

I can understand it, but knowing the automated assembly line, it feels frustrating.

The concept of quality control is also unnecessary.

Oh, no.

I need to focus on my work.

I continued working with the dexterity boost.

Although I'm borrowing the tools, I want to try to improve the process.

The chamfering I did yesterday would have been easier with a plane.

I can't help but want to gather my own tools.

Where do they sell woodworking tools?

As the day's work was coming to an end, I finally managed to make one quality C+ item.

But the next one I made was quality C.

This is tough.

I struggled a lot to improve my potion-making skills, and woodworking is no different.

But it's quite enjoyable.

From a distance, I saw someone applying what looked like sanding powder and polishing it with a cloth.

In the next process, they were treating the surface with something that looked like tree sap.

I also saw a bit of the assembly process.

Making things is enjoyable to watch as well.

"How's it going? Interested?"

"Yeah, Nils. I finished the part on the shelf."

"Okay. I'll check it out. I think we'll probably do the same work tomorrow."

"Sure."

"Let's call it a day a bit early. How about trying a different process from tomorrow?"

"I'm interested."

"I thought you would be."

Nils patted my shoulder and laughed.

"Great. There's a lot to see."

He has a nice smile.

I always thought he was the type to encourage and develop people, but this is also a way to win people's hearts.

It's a pretty good approach.

Even a cunning manager would use this method.

Is Nils genuine?

I guess it doesn't matter.

After leaving the archery range, I had a light dinner.

I could have skipped it, but I wanted to hunt in the forest late into the night.

Supplies are important.

Leaving the town of Remto behind, I headed for the western forest.

Surprisingly, my MP bar was almost full at this time.

I only used Physical Enchantment Aqua since the morning summoning.

I might as well use some spells for the night hunt.

I arrived at the forest around 6:30 PM.

There was plenty of time.

It's a bit wasteful, but I switched out the waning moon and Helix for Wolf and Jean.

The waning moon is fine, but Helix didn't get to do much today.

I want to create an opportunity for them, but with the current request, they'll have to wait.

I'm sorry.

Speaking of which, the burden on my MP for summoning has significantly decreased.

Even after summoning two of them, my MP bar was still about 90% full.

Alright.

Let's do this.

I cast enhancement spells on Wolf, Obsidian, Jean, and myself.

I used Physical Enchantment Fire and Earth for everyone.

It was a generous use, but my MP bar was still about 60% full.

That's plenty.

I only needed to ensure visibility, so I cast Noctovision on myself.

As for the hunt.

At the beginning, I used Obsidian and Jean to ambush and attack the rampaging silver monkeys as soon as they appeared.

I wielded bats in both hands and beat them up.

It's like a drum performance.

Instead of drums, I'm beating up monsters.

The more opponents, the better.

Evil Ants will keep appearing if left alone.

They were convenient opponents to improve my new combat style.

But something felt off.

I definitely felt it.

It seemed to be going well, but it was unsatisfying.

It was lacking something.

I couldn't clearly explain what was missing, which was frustrating.

What was it?

Fighting only Evil Ants would get boring, so I also attacked the nests of rampaging silver monkeys in the trees.

When I got tired of that, I went back to beating up Evil Ants.

Because the hunting ground was deep in the forest, I also fought Parallel Raccoons and Bloody Woods.

The Parallel Raccoons, which are raccoon monsters, were no problem.

They were easy to hunt.

However, the Bloody Woods were not very effective against attacks with bats.

Even with rods, they weren't very effective.

Their hidden claws were also difficult to use.

I predicted that the Branch Golems in the forest labyrinth would be even more difficult.

【Your profession level has increased due to your recent victory in battle!】

【You can now acquire the auxiliary skill Mental Fortitude.】

【Your Climbing skill has leveled up due to your previous actions!】

After defeating a male rampaging silver monkey, my profession level and climbing level increased.

I also gained a useful auxiliary skill.

According to the simple explanation, it's an auxiliary skill that works in your favor during mental strength checks.

The required bonus points are 2, which seems relatively light.

I immediately acquired and activated it.

After that, I continued to alternate between attacking the nests of rampaging silver monkeys and fighting Evil Ants.

It was going well.

I got so absorbed in the work that I lost track of time.

It was already approaching midnight.

11:30 PM.

I decided to end today's hunt after wiping out the Evil Ants I was fighting.

【Your Dual Wield skill has leveled up due to your recent victory in battle!】

【Your summoned monster 'Obsidian' has leveled up due to your recent victory in battle!】

【Please add 1 point to any of your status values.】

My Dual Wield skill had leveled up, but it was even more gratifying that Obsidian had leveled up.

Obsidian's agility value had already increased.

I specified vitality for the arbitrary status increase.

I think the numbers are starting to look beautiful, even if only a little.

Summoned Monster: Obsidian, Owl Lv3 → Lv4 (↑1)

Dexterity: 12

Agility: 18 (↑1)

Intelligence: 20

Strength: 12

Vitality: 12 (↑1)

Spirit: 15

Skills:

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

Summoned monsters gain 2 points in status values with each level up.

It's a bit disappointing that you can't arbitrarily increase 2 points.

It's difficult to make the numbers look beautiful.

I arrived at my master's house a little past midnight.

I might have gotten a bit too absorbed in the hunt.

I quickly organized my belongings and returned Wolf and the others.

I got more items from today's hunt than I expected for just one night.

Fiena and the others are probably in the village of Legias right now.

I'll stop by the village of Legias before heading to the town of Remto tomorrow.

Also, the tournament is in four days.

I feel like I've been set up by my master and the guild master, but there's also a sense of excitement.

Who will I be fighting?

I logged out with the excitement of a child.

Protagonist: Keith

Race: Human, Male, Race Lv7 (↑1)

Profession: Summoner (Summoner) Lv6 (↑1)

Remaining Bonus Points: 11

Set Skills:

Staff Lv5, Striking Lv3, Kicking Lv3, Joint Locks Lv3, Throws Lv3

Dodge Lv3, Guard Lv3, Summoning Magic Lv6

Light Magic Lv3, Wind Magic Lv4, Earth Magic Lv3, Water Magic Lv3

Fire Magic Lv3, Dark Magic Lv3

Alchemy Lv4 (↑1), Pharmacist Lv3, Glasswork Lv3, Carpentry Lv2 (↑1)

Coordination Lv5, Appraisal Lv5, Identification Lv5, Insight Lv1, Cold Resistance Lv3

Grapple Lv5, Horsemanship Lv4, Precision Operation Lv5, Jump Lv1

Heat Resistance Lv3, Climbing Lv3 (↑1), Dual Wield Lv2 (↑1), Mental Fortitude Lv1 (New!)

Equipment:

Kay's Bats ×2, Snow Leopard Hidden Claws ×3, Wild Rabbit Chest Armor + Series

Snow Ape Arm Guards, Wild Horse Boots +, Snow Ape Leather Helmet, Backpack

Item Box ×2

Held Items:

Skinning Knife

Titles:

Apprentice of the Old Summoner, Proof of Forest Guardian, Seeker of Moderation

Status:

Dexterity: 15

Agility: 15

Intelligence: 20 (↑1)

Strength: 15

Vitality: 15

Spirit: 20

Summoned Monsters:

Wolf, Wolf Lv5

Waning Moon, Horse Lv3

Helix, Hawk Lv3

Obsidian, Owl Lv4 (↑1)

Dexterity: 12

Agility: 18 (↑1)

Intelligence: 20

Strength: 12

Vitality: 12 (↑1)

Spirit: 15

Skills:

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

Jean, Bat Lv4

Jerrick, Wood Golem Lv3