Chapter 61

It was just past 4 PM.

The place I was in was the road leading to the village of Regias.

After the preliminaries ended, I rode Residual Moon and galloped out of the town of Remuto at full speed.

My memory was hazy.

The reason didn't matter.

I just wanted the strongest opponent possible.

I wanted to move my body.

The toughest and most troublesome opponent I could think of was a rogue horse.

If possible, I wanted a wild horse.

I used the Call Monster spell to guide a rogue horse in front of me and fought it.

Hmm.

After hunting three of them, I felt much calmer.

And then,

There were no more rogue horses I could call with the Call Monster spell.

That made me furious for no reason.

It was a good outlet for my frustration.

I ended up fighting a wild silver horse (male).

I then added two more rogue horses to the count.

Finally, I managed to calm down.

What was I doing?

I needed to reflect.

It was already past 6 PM.

Alright.

I was calm now.

Watching the matches was really fun.

But when it came to my own matches, there were many situations where I couldn't release my stress.

The feeling of a walkover victory was hollow.

I arrived at the village of Regias.

It was a bit early, but I decided to have dinner.

I bought stew and bread from a stall where Yuka was working.

I sat at a table behind the stall and slowly ate while reflecting on today's matches.

The matches were indeed short.

It looked like I won easily.

No, when facing a magic user, if I could bring it to close combat, it was relatively easy to win.

Thinking back carefully,

I also reviewed the battle logs. They were short, but it seemed like the one-sided progress of the battle could have been a coincidence.

Especially the fourth match.

If I had taken a different action, I might have been the one receiving a one-sided barrage of arrows.

Alright, my head is cooling down nicely.

Tomorrow is the main event.

If I'm participating, I intend to take it seriously.

"Ah, it's Keith. That's perfect."

"Good evening, Saki-san."

Saki-san had a happy expression.

Did something good happen?

"I need more rogue horse cordovan. I really want it."

"Well, I think that's a bit difficult."

"I know, but rogue horses are rare, and it's a problem."

"I see."

"It seems to be a good way to earn experience points."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. When I had a beginner help, their skill level went up in no time."

"Wow."

"Oh, I shouldn't have. I've finished the request, so don't worry."

"Huh?"

"There's still some finishing work. It's the shoulder part of your chest plate. I'll attach it here, so please give me the chest plate."

"Sure."

On the table, a leather armor and a wide belt were laid out.

Just by looking, I could tell it was better than my previous equipment.

"Did you finish it?"

"Of course. It's a great piece. I'm confident in it."

The leather armor covered from the waist up.

It had belt fastenings on both sides of the waist, making it easy to put on by myself.

And the belt.

It consisted of a belt around the waist and a strap that went diagonally from the shoulder to the waist.

The surface wasn't shiny like the material.

It was probably reinforced with the carapace of an evil ant, giving it a familiar dull shine.

There was another set of leather armor in a different size.

It was for the Oni.

The leg armor was more like greaves than boots.

Saki-san started attaching the snow monkey skin to the left shoulder of the chest plate I had taken off.

She worked so fast.

When I appraised the finished leather armor, it looked like this.

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

Def+10 Weight 8 Durability 170

A leather armor made from the hide of a wild horse. The hide is processed to remain soft, prioritizing ease of movement.

[Custom]

Uses snow monkey skin on the left shoulder.

Uses the carapace of an evil ant throughout, enhancing defense points and durability.

Impressive.

It was a significant improvement over the chest plate.

The waist and arm armor were also part of the same set.

I added a snow monkey arm guard to the left arm.

I moved a bit, and it felt like it fit well.

Next, I appraised the belt.

[Armor Item: Belt] Rogue Horse Belt+ Quality B- Rarity 4

Def+2 Weight 2 Durability 100

A belt made from rogue horse cordovan. It is thick yet soft and beautiful.

[Custom]

Uses the carapace of an evil ant throughout, slightly enhancing defense points and durability.

* Item Box Expansion +1 judgment, hanging equipment weight judgment increase [slight]

"Saki-san, what does the expansion mean?"

"Oh, that."

I heard a detailed explanation, but I'll summarize it briefly.

First, what is the Item Box?

The storage capacity increases based on the race level.

The formula for the number of items you can carry in the Item Box is as follows:

Race Level × Race Level = Storage Units

I remembered this.

My current race level is 7, so 7 × 7 = 49 units.

The weight limit for items stored in the Item Box is 2 units per weight.

For example, the logs obtained from defeating a Branch Golem in the Forest Labyrinth weigh 2 units.

With my current level, I can carry 49 logs.

I didn't know this before.

There are other definitions for one unit.

- The maximum size for storage is the sum of the length (cm) + width (cm) + height (cm) = 200 (cm) per unit.

- Liquids like water and other shapeless items require a container.

I was missing a lot of this information.

Saki-san was disappointed in me.

Better late than never.

With the Item Box Expansion +1 judgment, the race level is calculated as +1.

So, 8 × 8 = 64 units.

That's amazing.

The effect increases as the race level goes up.

The belt itself is of high quality B-.

There's nothing to complain about.

"Isn't the processing fee a bit expensive?"

"It's fine. I made a decent profit from the items I bought, so it's okay."

"Ah."

"I don't need rogue horse cordovan, but I do need more wild horse hide."

"I have some from the ones I hunted just now."

I had been hunting rogue horses until just a moment ago.

I laid out the wild horse hides on the table.

I also took out the ones from last night.

"Rick! Can you come over here?"

"It's fine."

Leaving Fumika in charge of the stall, Rick also came over.

He immediately started calculating the value of the items I brought.

On my side, I returned Helix and equipped the armor on the Oni.

The leather armor and greaves had performance comparable to what I was wearing.

It was suitable for the front line.

Well, I've already been using it.

The size was a bit large, but the fastenings allowed for some adjustment.

I decided to let the Oni practice combat.

I put a coat on it to avoid drawing attention from others.

"Oh, right. What about the hare chest plate? I can buy it if you want."

"I'll sell it."

"Holding onto it as a spare isn't a bad idea, you know?"

"No, once I see this armor, I can't go back."

"Right. I'll refashion it and put it up for sale."

Rick added to the calculations.

The total was a decent amount.

I could probably make a big purchase, but I didn't need any additional weapons or armor.

It felt a bit wasteful.

There was nothing to invest in.

Would it be a waste of resources?

What if I became a target for player killers?

I started to have some scary thoughts.

While sitting at the table, Saki-san and Rick started having dinner.

It was time for some casual conversation.

Rick brought up the topic of the preliminaries.

"Right, the preliminaries ended today, didn't they?"

"How did you do, Keith?"

"I made it through."

"Wow."

"Amazing."

It was nice to be praised, but I wondered about the content.

No good.

Negative feelings were starting to arise again.

"We can't watch directly, but Fina and the others are there."

"The battle logs are open to all players, so we can get a general idea."

"I see."

"Common advice, but good luck."

"Thanks."

We continued the casual conversation for a bit.

The topic was mainly about the tournament.

It was nice to spend some relaxed time.

When the stall got busier, I decided to leave.

I just nodded to Fumika and Yuka.

They were probably short-handed without Fina and the others, so I didn't want to be a bother.

It was already 7 PM.

I decided to set up for the night.

Leaving the village of Regias, I returned Residual Moon and summoned Jean.

The Oni's equipment was reinforced.

I decided to start hunting from the front line with it and me.

It was just past 10 PM.

The hunting was going smoothly.

There were fewer parties in the night forest during the tournament, but they were starting to return today.

We even encountered a group where an ant ball was forming.

A mage in the party was using an area-of-effect spell to clear out the Evil Ants.

It was probably a Fire Storm.

The warrior had been rescued from the ant ball.

I hoped they were okay mentally as well.

Area-of-effect spells were flashy and enviable.

When would I be able to use such spells?

In the forest, I was fighting almost bare-handed.

There was no particular reason.

I just enjoyed the feeling of punching.

Against ants, I also used palm strikes and shoulder strikes.

Yeah.

It wasn't about venting frustration, okay?

The Oni seemed to be having a lot of fun.

It was cutting the joints of the ants with a machete.

It seemed to have learned a new fighting style.

No, no, don't play with the ants by cutting off all their legs!

Cut off their heads properly!

Jean and Obsidian's ambush attacks were getting better.

They could take down even a male silver horse with just the two of them.

Well, they were birds, but they couldn't fly.

Being able to fly was a huge advantage.

They had become very reliable.

Near my master's house, I saw a strange figure.

It was the gray marker.

It was in a tree.

I made the Oni climb the tree and stay quiet.

Jean and Obsidian were also with me.

Hmm.

I decided to observe.

The figure was peeking out of a coat, looking around.

No, it seemed to be looking at something.

I tried to identify it, but there was no reaction.

From my position in the tree, I couldn't see clearly, but it seemed there were players.

Jean and Obsidian could see them clearly.

I squinted and saw green markers.

There were five of them.

The gray marker was moving slightly.

No, there were four other gray markers visible.

They were silently trying to circle around to the back of the other party.

Their actions looked like they were planning a player kill.

The group of gray markers passed under the tree I was in and secured the back of the party that seemed to be their target.

The party was looting items from monsters.

What should I do?

Should I ignore it?

I focused on the gray markers.

I stared at one of them.

I had seen him somewhere before.

I identified the approaching group, and two of them were flagged.

Sasame, Lv.6

Banded, Alert, Counterattack Allowed

Taro, Lv.6

Black Sorcerer, Alert, Counterattack Allowed

[Confirmed as PK Players. Elimination is permitted.]

It seemed I had also seen through them while identifying.

Hmm?

Weren't these the ones who tried to PK me before?

Their markers showed both gray and green.

What should I do?

I had an idea.

I don't know why I thought of it.

No good.

I had to stop my lips from curling into a smile.

I selected a spell and cast it.

I chanted as quietly as possible.

The spell was completed.

"Call Monster!"

I decided to guide the monsters.

What?

Evil Ants.

There were so many ants around.

Most of them were passive.

I had been calling them one by one, but could I call multiple?

I tried, and it worked.

Call, call them.

A swarm of Evil Ants was rapidly forming behind the hunters.

I didn't call that many.

No, the guided ants were calling more ants.

The swarm of ants exceeded what I intended.

They reached right under me.

The hunters, who were targeting prey, became the prey.

The group of red markers representing monsters attacked the gray markers.

I watched the situation from the tree.

It was traumatic.

The five-player PK group hadn't respawned yet.

The Black Sorcerer was trying to cast a spell, but it was impossible.

They were overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

I could see their HP bars being slowly drained.

I had also seen through the others.

The information told me that my Identification skill had leveled up.

But that wasn't the point.

It reminded me of a scene from a horror movie where large ants attack people.

It might have been a panic movie.

The party that was being targeted by the PKers left without noticing us.

That was good.

I couldn't leave the tree.

What should I do?

Well, it was their own fault.

There were three ant balls at my feet and two a bit further away.

I was surrounded.

There was no choice.

I had to jump from tree to tree.

Jean and Obsidian were fine.

What about the Oni?

I decided to remove its equipment and return it.

Then I jumped.

I leaped to a branch of the next tree.

Just to be safe, I jumped to two more trees to get away from the area.

That was close.

The Call Monster spell could be dangerous.

It was a double-edged sword that could put me in danger.

And the Evil Ants.

They were scary.

I had made them work hard, so I was sorry.

But I hoped they would continue to be useful in the future.

Yeah.

I would reconsider, but I wouldn't regret it.

Monsters that could call allies were valuable opponents.

I shouldn't let them go.

But I should use them correctly, following the proper dosage.

When I entered my master's house, I quickly returned the summoned monsters, removed my equipment, and got into bed.

The last swarm of Evil Ants had chilled my spine.

I decided to log out, immersed in a different mood from the daytime.

Protagonist: Keith

Race: Human, Male, Race Lv7

Class: Summoner (Summoner) Lv6

Bonus Points Remaining: 5

Set Skills:

Staff Lv6, Striking Lv4, Kicking Lv4, Joint Techniques Lv4, Throwing Techniques Lv4

Evasion Lv4, Blocking Lv4, Summoning Magic Lv7

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

Fire Magic Lv3, Dark Magic Lv3, Ice Magic Lv1, Lightning Magic Lv1

Wood Magic Lv1

Alchemy Lv4, Pharmacist Lv3, Glassworking Lv3, Carpentry Lv3

Coordination Lv6, Appraisal Lv6, Identification Lv6, Insight Lv2 (↑1), Cold Resistance Lv3

Grapple Lv5, Horsemanship Lv5, Precision Manipulation Lv6, Jumping Lv2

Heat Resistance Lv3, Climbing Lv3, Dual Wielding Lv3, Mental Fortitude Lv3

Rapid Incantation Lv2

Equipment:

Kay's Rod ×2, Kay's Tonfa ×2, Snow Leopard Hidden Claws ×3

Wild Horse Leather Armor+ Snow Monkey Arm Guard Wild Horse Boots+

Snow Monkey Leather Helmet Rogue Horse Belt+ Backpack Item Box ×2

Items:

Skinning Knife, Complete Set of Carpentry Tools

Titles:

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

Spell Catalog

Summoned Monsters:

Volf, Wolf Lv6

Residual Moon, Horse Lv4

Helix, Hawk Lv4

Obsidian, Owl Lv4

Jean, Bat Lv4

Jericho, Wood Golem Lv3

Oni, Oni Lv2