Chapter 72

Heading towards the spring.

Why?

Because I can sense some kind of magic from the spring itself.

With Sense Magic, the spring itself appears to emit a faint light.

It seems to change colors.

There is no sign of a monster.

It's the same pattern as the previous area portals.

What about human souls?

There was one.

The spring is surrounded by trees, but there is one place where they are cut off.

A small stream seems to flow out from there.

There is a large rock sitting in front of the stream.

And the human soul was hovering right above it.

"Traveler"

"We are the signposts"

"We are the signals"

"We are also the servants"

"If you wish to restore the blessing of this spring, you must undergo a trial"

"Win the trial"

"Then we will release the blessing of the spring to you"

Well, what should I do?

There's no other choice but to do it.

Select "Yes" in front of me and prepare for battle.

What kind of opponent will I face this time?

A mist-like mass slowly flew from the direction of the spring.

What is it?

Lonely Burning Spirit Gas Cloud Lv.1

Event Monster ???

Gas?

Cloud?

The name is already strange, but now is not the time to dwell on it.

This must be a gaseous, cloud-like monster.

The question is whether it can be defeated with normal attacks.

That's the problem.

Select and cast a spell.

Then I put some distance between us.

The monster's movements are slow, and it is crawling towards me.

The first attack is Helix.

It flew just above the ground and pierced through the center of the monster.

What's the damage?

The monster's HP bar shows no change at all.

Helix seems to have taken about 10% damage.

I called Helix to stop on my shoulder.

What should I do against this thing?

If physical attacks don't work, magic is usually effective.

I was thinking of the Plant Golem I fought in the forest maze.

That's why I tried this spell first.

"Enchanted Weapon!"

I cast the spell on Wolf.

The next moment, Wolf ran out.

He charged into the gas mass crawling on the ground.

What's the damage?

The monster's HP bar has decreased slightly.

Wolf has also taken a little damage.

It seems to be a mutual damage.

I can deal damage, but this method feels too slow.

"Fire Shot!"

The spell hit the slow-moving monster.

But the HP bar seems to be recovering.

Is it just my imagination?

I check again, but it's not just my imagination.

Magic doesn't work either.

No, I should try other spells.

Since it's a burning spirit, it should be related to fire magic.

So, should I consider fire and water magic?

How about this?

"Wind Cutter!"

The monster's HP bar has been significantly reduced.

But not as much as I expected.

My MP bar seems to be depleting faster than I can defeat the monster.

I'm starting to regret repeatedly summoning and returning the monsters.

There's no choice.

I have to chip away at it.

I put some distance between us and use potions on Wolf and Helix.

Then I cast the Enchanted Weapon spell on me, Crescent Moon, and Helix.

I didn't expect this to turn into a war of attrition.

I steeled myself and continued to take and deal damage.

This monster deals damage just by touching it.

It's too troublesome.

It's hot and painful to touch.

It feels like it could cause a burn.

But thanks to the Enchanted Weapon spell, the amount of damage I take seems to have decreased.

Helix's HP bar is also decreasing less.

Wolf, Helix, and Crescent Moon continued to fight the monster while taking damage.

I gradually healed them with Dark Heal.

I used a recovery pill on myself.

The monster's HP bar is steadily decreasing, albeit slowly.

I'm not sure if I can make it in time, but it's a close call.

In the end, I managed to defeat it.

However, my MP bar is down to about 10%.

My HP bar is also below half.

The summoned monsters are not in good shape either.

My MP bar is almost depleted from using Dark Heal, and my HP bar is also below half.

It was a sorry state.

What about the monster?

It disappeared without a trace.

No, the event seems to be continuing.

"Traveler"

"We are the signposts"

"We are the signals"

"We are also the servants"

"The blessing of this spring has been revived"

"Blessing to those who have overcome this trial"

"We will continue to bestow the blessing of the spring upon you"

I can no longer sense the magic that was in the spring.

No, it seems to have spread around the spring.

Is it over?

I couldn't help but sit down.

"Area portal to W3 has been unlocked!"

"4 bonus points have been added. Total points are now 8."

"Your battle victory has increased your job level!"

"New auxiliary skill [Body Reinforcement] is now available."

"Your battle victory has increased your [Summoning Magic] level!"

"Your battle victory has increased your [Wind Magic] level!"

"Your battle victory has increased your [High-speed Chanting] level!"

"Your battle victory has increased your race level! Please add 1 point to any status value of your choice."

I've leveled up in various ways.

The rewards were substantial for the tough battle.

Even my summoning magic has leveled up, so I can add a new summoning monster.

Oh, I need to increase my status values.

I'll increase my agility, which I had already decided on.

Base Status

Dexterity 16

Agility 16 (↑1)

Intelligence 20

Strength 15

Vitality 15

Spirit 20

"2 bonus points have been added. Total points are now 10."

And the information didn't stop there.

It continued.

"Your battle victory has increased the level of the summoned monster [Wolf]!"

"Please add 1 point to any status value of your choice."

Hmm.

Wolf has also leveled up.

Was it worth all the trouble?

More than that, it seems to be leveling up faster than I expected.

The status value that has already increased is agility.

I'll specify dexterity for the optional status increase.

Summoned Monster Wolf Wolf Lv6→Lv7 (↑1)

Dexterity 12 (↑1)

Agility 26 (↑1)

Intelligence 12

Strength 12

Vitality 18

Spirit 11

Skills

Bite, Sprint, Intimidate, Keen Hearing, Danger Sense, Tracking

"Your battle victory has increased the level of the summoned monster [Helix]!"

"New skill [Aerial Maneuver] has been added to the summoned monster [Helix]."

"Please add 1 point to any status value of your choice."

Helix has also leveled up in succession.

This is the first time I've had so many level-ups in a row.

It's busy.

The status value that has already increased is intelligence.

I'll specify vitality for the optional status increase.

Summoned Monster Helix Hawk Lv4→Lv5 (↑1)

Dexterity 11

Agility 22

Intelligence 20 (↑1)

Strength 12

Vitality 12 (↑1)

Spirit 12

Skills

Beak Strike, Flight, Far Sight, Wide Area Exploration, Ambush, Danger Sense, Aerial Maneuver (New!)

A new skill has been added.

What is Aerial Maneuver?

Is it like a maneuver used in close combat between fighter jets?

Well, it's probably a good thing that it's been strengthened.

At this point, there's no way I could have made a mistake.

Was the Gas Cloud a particularly rewarding opponent in terms of experience points?

Before this, the last time my race level increased was during the main tournament of the fighting competition.

It feels like a long time ago, but it was just yesterday.

I'm growing too fast.

Today, I didn't fight and defeat that many monsters.

The Gas Cloud was the toughest opponent I faced today.

Yeah.

I don't want to fight it again right now, but I'd like to fight it again in the future.

It might be hard to encounter a spirit.

And the auxiliary skill [Body Reinforcement] is now available.

It requires 4 bonus points, which is a lot.

But wait.

Is it possible to have [Spirit Reinforcement] and not have [Body Reinforcement]?

No, it's not.

I almost immediately obtained and activated it.

Alright.

Let's take a break.

I can't bring myself to leave the spring and explore in this situation.

I decided to lie down and rest in the shade of a tree.

I have plenty of potions, but there's a cooldown period.

I need to take my time to recover.

There's nothing to do now.

If I had enough MP, I could use alchemy to make potions, but I'm not sure about that.

Maybe I'll check the bulletin board.

I found a thread about magic-related information and posted information about dust magic.

Then I checked the strategy board.

Chaos.

No, there are many strategy threads, and it's confusing.

The threads that were divided by area seem to be in chaos.

I checked a few, but I couldn't get a good grasp of what was going on.

It seems they are dividing the threads by map numbers.

I was thinking of posting about the area portal, but I lost the mood to do so.

I suddenly noticed something at the spring.

It looks like the Gas Cloud.

Gas Cloud Lv.2

Burning Spirit, Alert

The marker is yellow.

Is it like the Knocker or the Gnome at the shrine?

And there are more than ten of them boiling up from the spring.

I can see some of them moving away from me, but they're not coming towards me.

I can even see some of them flying over my head and gaining altitude.

Are they the guardians of this place?

If so, they are very reliable.

I wonder if there are any monsters that can reach the spring without taking damage from them.

There might be, but I can't think of any right now.

I waited for the cooldown and gave potions to everyone.

It's just before 6 PM.

There's still a faint light in the sky.

Should I return to my master's house using Return Home and leave the spring?

I looked at the spring from the top of a hill.

It's hard to see from a distance, but I can see something wriggling.

There are several of them at regular intervals around the spring.

Looking at it this way, I don't want to get close, but is this the area portal?

The only change in the surroundings is that.

I also checked the location on the wide-area map.

It was called the Mist Spring.

It will certainly become an area portal, but should I log out here?

It's fine for a short time, but if I log out in a sleeping state, it would be better to have something to stay in.

I want a tent and a blanket.

I rushed to get this far, but today's exploration will end here.

It's already sunset.

Even with night vision, the exploration range will be limited.

Also, I don't have much HP or MP left.

I chanted the time-space magic spell, Return Home, and transferred.

I arrived in front of my master's house.

Teleportation spells are really convenient.

But my MP is almost depleted.

It's also painful that Crescent Moon and Helix are not suitable for night hunting.

I'll skip night hunting.

I returned Crescent Moon and Helix.

I brought Wolf into my master's house and headed to the underground workshop.

I had an early dinner while thinking.

I bought it in the morning, but it was quite delicious.

Well.

What should I do if I have time?

I'll do some production activities.

But I don't have much MP left.

I'll skip potions that require MP to create water.

I still have some potions left.

If I'm going to do something, I'll make arrows.

I'll use the arrowhead materials I didn't sell.

Obsidian and Evil Ant Stingers.

The shafts of the arrows will be made of stick-like wood.

I have a few scraps, so I'll start by splitting them and making thin sticks.

It's frustrating that I can't check the quality at the component stage.

I'll believe that a good product will come out and continue working.

Before I knew it, it was 8 PM.

I had about 30 thin wooden sticks piled up in front of me.

I went too far.

I got too absorbed.

Next is the fletching.

I'll use the wings of the Grassland Hawk.

I'll split the feathers into left and right.

Feathers are curved when viewed in cross-section.

They have a front and back.

If you use feathers from both sides on the same arrow, the airflow will interfere and it won't fly straight.

In fact, it will lose speed.

Therefore, you should not use feathers from both sides on the same arrow.

When released, two arrows will rotate clockwise and counterclockwise.

Next is the arrowhead.

I'll check if the obsidian can fit into the groove at the tip of the shaft.

It's just a matter of gluing the contact surface with glue and securing it with thread.

[Weapon Item: Arrow] Obsidian Arrow+ Quality C Rarity 2

AP1 Damage 2 Weight 0+ Durability 30 Range -20%

An arrow with an obsidian tip.

The weight gives it impact, but the range is shorter.

I appraised the completed arrow, and it turned out to be quite good.

It's a shame I don't have much obsidian left.

The quality is C+ for the later ones.

I have a little more MP, so I tried using the alchemy shortcut reproduction, but it became D+.

This is no good.

I'm not using the Physical Enchantment Aqua to boost my dexterity because I don't have enough MP.

I'll stop pushing it.

I'll continue to make them by hand.

I also tried using Evil Ant Stingers.

[Weapon Item: Arrow] Evil Ant Arrow+ Quality C Rarity 2

AP8 Damage 0+ Weight 0+ Durability 30 Range +20% Slight Continuous Damage

An arrow with an Evil Ant Stinger tip.

Designed to cause bleeding damage with high penetration.

Yeah.

It's pretty normal.

I have a fair number of Evil Ant Stingers.

I might as well make as many as I can.

I'm using a few arrows.

I might use a lot of them in the future.

I'm just being overcautious, I guess.

"Your carpentry has leveled up due to your previous actions!"

I realized it was a level-up notification.

The arrowhead materials in my hand were almost gone.

Did I get carried away?

I took out a quiver for the Guardian from the [Item Box] and replenished the arrows.

I bundled the leftover arrows and threw them into the [Item Box].

Well.

What should I do from here?

My MP bar has recovered to over 10% after some time.

Making potions would be good, but summoning a new monster is also tempting.

I decided to prioritize making potions.

I created potion liquid using wound-sealing grass and created water within the range of my MP.

I got tired of it, so I used the alchemy shortcut reproduction twice and managed to make all the potions C+ quality.

"Your pharmacist has leveled up due to your previous actions!"

Hmm.

It feels like it's been a while since I made potions.

I've been taking less damage lately, so the opportunities to make them have decreased.

It's been a while since I've had to make potions, and my consumption has suddenly increased.

And then a level-up.

I thought I might have forgotten the process, but I was able to do it properly.

Let's move on to the next step.

The Odd Formation Stone I obtained by peeling slugs.

The description said to use it as a powder, so I'll try it.

I'll use the alchemy making skill of crushing.

I'll place a few sheets of paper and put the Odd Formation Stone on top.

Then I'll select crushing from the alchemy making skill list.

I'll execute it by placing my hand over it.

The Odd Formation Stone turned into a fine powder.

I carefully put the powder into a potion bottle that has been dried.

Well, how did it turn out?

[Recovery Item] Odd Formation Powder Quality C Rarity 2 Weight 0+

A general antidote. Effective against poisons that lower vitality. Tasteless.

* Can be used consecutively. Hinders agility and intelligence for about 10 minutes.

"Your alchemy has leveled up due to your previous actions!"

Of course, I'm happy to have made an antidote, but I'm also happy about the alchemy level-up.

I'd like to go slug hunting if I have time.

But hunting a lot of them is a hassle.

Is there any way around it?

It's getting late.

I'll do the cleanup and organize my belongings.

I had run out of wound-sealing grass, so I made sure to secure a few from my burlap sack stock.

I'll also take a little bit of the agony grass.

It can be cooked just by boiling it in water.

It's a useful item for someone like me who can't cook.

I went upstairs, returned Wolf, took off my equipment, and got into bed.

I'll probably have more opportunities to log out at the area portals I find.

I was thinking about that while logging